11:26
23.6.2014
LATEST from our news desk:
Several European foreign ministers are threatening further sanctions if Russia fails to cooperate with Ukraine's proposed peace plan and halt interference in the country’s east.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on June 23, just days before Brussels signs a historic association accord with Kyiv.
The bloc has so far ordered visa bans and asset freezes for officials but refrained from imposing broader economic sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU will be able to agree further measures against Russia at a summit of EU leaders on June 27, if necessary.
He said Moscow must be in "no doubt" it faces further sanctions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt accused Russia of "conducting a propaganda war with full speed," adding that Moscow must face further sanctions unless it changes course. (AFP and AP)
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on June 23, just days before Brussels signs a historic association accord with Kyiv.
The bloc has so far ordered visa bans and asset freezes for officials but refrained from imposing broader economic sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU will be able to agree further measures against Russia at a summit of EU leaders on June 27, if necessary.
He said Moscow must be in "no doubt" it faces further sanctions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt accused Russia of "conducting a propaganda war with full speed," adding that Moscow must face further sanctions unless it changes course. (AFP and AP)
11:20
23.6.2014
An update from the OSCE in Ukraine:
10:25
23.6.2014
From our news desk:
The governor of Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Ihor Baluta, has called on residents to respect the peace plan put forth by President Petro Poroshenko.
Baluta on June 23 urged his people to avoid conflicts after pro-Ukrainian and pro-separatist activists clashed in the city of Kharkiv on June 22.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, discussed the situation by telephone in Ukraine late June 22.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on June 23 released a statement saying the two had agreed "a stable cease-fire should be attained as a condition to launching a dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of protesters in southeast Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 22 that he supported Poroshenko's call for a cease-fire but said a cessation of hostilities was meaningless without a dialogue between the opposing parties. (UNIAN, ITAR-TASS, and AFP)
Baluta on June 23 urged his people to avoid conflicts after pro-Ukrainian and pro-separatist activists clashed in the city of Kharkiv on June 22.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, discussed the situation by telephone in Ukraine late June 22.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on June 23 released a statement saying the two had agreed "a stable cease-fire should be attained as a condition to launching a dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of protesters in southeast Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 22 that he supported Poroshenko's call for a cease-fire but said a cessation of hostilities was meaningless without a dialogue between the opposing parties. (UNIAN, ITAR-TASS, and AFP)
09:55
23.6.2014
The Kremlin backs a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch as a mediator with the separatists:
09:14
23.6.2014
Ukrainian authorities say that pro-Russian separatists attacked troops in the east:
08:53
23.6.2014
"Ukrayinskaya pravda" reports on the latest crackdown by pro-Russian dissidents in the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" on local opposition to their takeover (in Ukrainian).
08:48
23.6.2014
08:32
23.6.2014
As our news desk reports, the European Union will again discuss the latest events in Ukraine:
The crisis in Ukraine is set to dominate an EU foreign ministers meeting on June 23, just days before Brussels signs a historic association accord with Kyiv.
The Association Agreement due to be signed in Brussels on June 27 is the pact that first sparked the Ukrainian crisis in November 2013.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin will attend the meeting in Luxembourg, chaired by EU foreign-affairs chief Catherine Ashton.
The EU ministers are also due to discuss the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AFP and AP)
The Association Agreement due to be signed in Brussels on June 27 is the pact that first sparked the Ukrainian crisis in November 2013.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin will attend the meeting in Luxembourg, chaired by EU foreign-affairs chief Catherine Ashton.
The EU ministers are also due to discuss the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AFP and AP)
08:27
23.6.2014
17:04
22.6.2014
Before we close the live blog for today, we'll leave you with this update from RFE/RL's news desk. Don't forget you can keep abreast of all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.
Russian television has shown President Vladimir Putin giving cautious support to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's unilateral cease-fire but also saying that any cessation of hostilities is meaningless without "dialogue."
Appearing on the "Rossiya 24" television channel on June 22, Putin said fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists needs to stop.
But Putin said reconciliation in Ukraine depends upon a "dialogue among all the warring factions" in order to find solutions that are acceptable to everyone, particularly people in southeastern Ukraine.
Putin also said that there was artillery fire overnight from Ukrainian territory, and that some shells had landed in Russian territory. But he said it was not clear who was responsible for firing those barrages.
Putin did not say where in Russia the artillery shells landed.
Putin has also ordered military forces in central Russia to be on "full combat alert" in a surprise test of their battle readiness.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the alert in the central military district will last until June 28.
The chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said the weeklong drill will involve about 65,000 troops, including airborne forces.
Gerasimov said about 180 military planes, 60 helicopters, and some 5,500 units of military equipment will also be involved.
The drill comes after NATO announced during the past week that Russia has resumed a military build-up on the border with Ukraine.
On June 22, Putin also spoke about the Ukraine crisis in a three-way telephone call with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to a statement from the French president's office, Hollande and Merkel "reiterated the importance of ensuring full control of the Russian-Ukrainian border in order to avoid infiltrations of equipment and armed men."
A Kremlin statement stressed the need for Kyiv to start negotiations with "representatives of the protesting regions" in eastern Ukraine.
On June 21, Poroshenko said in a televised speech that he has an alternative plan in case the unilateral cease-fire he declared on June 20 fails to take hold.
Poroshenko said the cease-fire was announced to provide time for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to disarm.
But he also said: "For those who hope to use the cease-fire to play for time, to regroup their forces, they have to know -- we have a plan B."
Despite Poroshenko's declaration of a cease-fire, separatist leader Pavel Gubarev told Rossiya-24 TV channel that either Ukrainian forces were not obeying orders or Poroshenko "is lying."
Gubarev, the self-declared "governor" within the separatist movement in Donetsk that has declared an independent "Donetsk People's Republic," says there has been "no cease-fire at all."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service said on June 21 that rebel fighters had attacked two border posts and a military base in the eastern Donetsk region.
It said nine border guards were injured in one of the overnight attacks.
Poroshenko has met regional leaders and offered to respect the use of the Russian language in eastern Ukraine.
But he has refused to enter into direct dialogue with separatist leaders.
Russian television has shown President Vladimir Putin giving cautious support to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's unilateral cease-fire but also saying that any cessation of hostilities is meaningless without "dialogue."
Appearing on the "Rossiya 24" television channel on June 22, Putin said fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists needs to stop.
But Putin said reconciliation in Ukraine depends upon a "dialogue among all the warring factions" in order to find solutions that are acceptable to everyone, particularly people in southeastern Ukraine.
Putin also said that there was artillery fire overnight from Ukrainian territory, and that some shells had landed in Russian territory. But he said it was not clear who was responsible for firing those barrages.
Putin did not say where in Russia the artillery shells landed.
Putin has also ordered military forces in central Russia to be on "full combat alert" in a surprise test of their battle readiness.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the alert in the central military district will last until June 28.
The chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said the weeklong drill will involve about 65,000 troops, including airborne forces.
Gerasimov said about 180 military planes, 60 helicopters, and some 5,500 units of military equipment will also be involved.
The drill comes after NATO announced during the past week that Russia has resumed a military build-up on the border with Ukraine.
On June 22, Putin also spoke about the Ukraine crisis in a three-way telephone call with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to a statement from the French president's office, Hollande and Merkel "reiterated the importance of ensuring full control of the Russian-Ukrainian border in order to avoid infiltrations of equipment and armed men."
A Kremlin statement stressed the need for Kyiv to start negotiations with "representatives of the protesting regions" in eastern Ukraine.
On June 21, Poroshenko said in a televised speech that he has an alternative plan in case the unilateral cease-fire he declared on June 20 fails to take hold.
Poroshenko said the cease-fire was announced to provide time for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to disarm.
But he also said: "For those who hope to use the cease-fire to play for time, to regroup their forces, they have to know -- we have a plan B."
Despite Poroshenko's declaration of a cease-fire, separatist leader Pavel Gubarev told Rossiya-24 TV channel that either Ukrainian forces were not obeying orders or Poroshenko "is lying."
Gubarev, the self-declared "governor" within the separatist movement in Donetsk that has declared an independent "Donetsk People's Republic," says there has been "no cease-fire at all."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service said on June 21 that rebel fighters had attacked two border posts and a military base in the eastern Donetsk region.
It said nine border guards were injured in one of the overnight attacks.
Poroshenko has met regional leaders and offered to respect the use of the Russian language in eastern Ukraine.
But he has refused to enter into direct dialogue with separatist leaders.