A woman carries a baby as she passes destroyed houses following what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces in the eastern town of Slovyansk on June 9.
-- Ukraine's Foreign Ministry says that Moscow and Kyiv have reached a "mutual understanding" on key parts of a plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko for ending violence in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.
-- Reports say up to 20 armed gunmen were trying to seize property from a factory (Topaz) that makes communications and electronic-warfare equipment in the Donetsk region.
-- A deputy foreign minister says Russia will consider any expansion of NATO forces near its borders a "demonstration of hostile intentions" and "take the necessary political and military-technological measures to support our security."
-- A two-man crew for Russian Zvezda TV arrived in Moscow after being released from detention in Ukraine.
-- Serbian officials say their own work on the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline will have to be suspended after Bulgaria stopped construction of its portion based on EU and U.S. concerns.
-- Ukrainian security forces are reportedly still battling pro-Russian separatists in the east near Slovyansk and Donetsk.
*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
How serious are the splits in the separatist ranks in Slovyansk? UNN reports that Ihor Girkin, who leads pro-Russian actions in Slovyansk, has ordered the detention of Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the self-styled "mayor" of Slovyansk who has claimed to command around 2,500 fighters.
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ITAR-TASS reports this about the ongoing pressure that Russian authorities are applying to payment giants Visa and MasterCard, both of which blocked transactions at Russian banks with ties to individuals sanctioned by the United States over Russia's annexation of Crimea and other actions in Ukraine. Russian officials are working on legislation to slap both companies with huge new fees or deposits:
Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina has held meetings with representatives of international payment systems Visa and MasterCard at the currently ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014, the Central Bank reported Thursday.
The terms and prospects of running and developing the business of international payments systems in Russia were discussed at the meetings, the bank said. No details of the talks were immediately available.
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NATO's Rasmussen expresses "hope [that] this is the start of a full and genuine withdrawal" by Russian forces massed near the Ukrainian border, via AFP.
Limited Russian troop movements near the border with Ukraine "may suggest" preparations for a withdrawal, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday.
"Late yesterday (Wednesday), we have seen limited Russian troop activity in the vicinity of the border with Ukraine that may suggest that some of these forces are preparing to withdraw," Rasmussen said in Montenegro.
"It is too early to say what this means, but I hope this is the start of a full and genuine withdrawal," he said.
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Here's our latest wrap-up from the newsroom:
Authorities in Ukraine said security forces suffered dozens of casualties in attacks in the eastern part of the country, the deadliest of which targeted a roadblock set up by government forces near the town of Volnovakha, in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine's Health Ministry said 17 soldiers died in the attacks and at least 36 were hospitalized with injuries.
The ministry said 16 soldiers died in the Volnovakha attack, in which grenade-launchers and mortar shells were used to attack the roadblock in the early morning hours.
The Defense Ministry earlier said one soldier was killed in an overnight attack in the neighboring region of Luhansk.
The Donetsk attack was the deadliest for Ukraine's military since it launched an offensive six weeks ago against pro-Russian separatists who have declared independent "people's republics" in the two eastern regions.
The attacks come three days before Ukraine holds a crucial presidential election on May 25.
Separatists in both Donetsk and Luhansk have vowed to prevent voting from going ahead in those regions.
Also on May 22, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of trying to escalate the conflict ahead of the vote.
Yatsenyuk called on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting on the crisis.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen meanwhile said that limited Russian troop movements near the border with Ukraine "may suggest" preparations for a withdrawal.
NATO's top military commander also said NATO has noted some movement of Russian troops away from the Ukrainian border, but that it was "too early" to assess their size or importance.
Supreme Allied Commander in Europe U.S. General Philip Breedlove said that a "very large and very capable force" still remains near the border.
Ukrainian officials said that even if the Russian forces were moving away from the border, "armed terrorists" were still infiltrating Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects the legitimacy of the pro-Western Ukrainian government, but he says he ordered the withdrawal to help create "favorable conditions" for the May 25 election.
Wolfgang Ischinger, the mediator for a peace plan for Ukraine sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has urged both government forces and the separatists to refrain from violence in the run-up to the election.
Ukraine's Central Election Commission said on May 22 that separatists were blocking the work of election officials in 16 of the 34 electoral districts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
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World Bank officials have signed off on $1.48 billion in loans to Ukraine.
And while you're at it, looking not quite as far ahead, here's an excellent primer on the obstacles to a vote this weekend from correspondent Tom Balmforth, who's in Kyiv: "Amid Chaos: How Will Eastern Ukrainians Manage To Vote?"
