Here's the latest Ukraine-related update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the Federation Council to revoke its authorization for Russian military forces to intervene in Ukraine.
But Putin said in Vienna today that Russia will continue to protect the interests of ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
Lawmakers are expected to withdraw the mandate on tomorrow.
Putin also said today that a temporary cease-fire between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine should be extended and "used for substantial negotiations."
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin is trying to normalize the atmosphere and resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Putin's request to lawmakers the "first practical step" by Russia toward settling the crisis.
Putin's announcement comes one day after EU foreign ministers urged the Kremlin to revoke the March 1 mandate authorizing Putin to deploy Russian troops in Ukraine.
Separatists shoot down Ukrainian helicopter, Putin says let's extend the "cease-fire": http://t.co/FpuCLiU8g2
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) June 24, 2014
VIENNA (AP) — Putin says weeklong cease-fire in Ukraine should be extended, accompanied by talks.
— Alicia A. Caldwell (@acaldwellap) June 24, 2014
News of the shooting down of a Ukrainian helicopter is also coming in on the wires:
A Ukrainian official says pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian Army helicopter near the city of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian security forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said on his Facebook page that there were nine people on board the Mi-8 copter and all had died in the crash.
The incident comes one day after separatist officials in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions announced that they would observe a temporary cease-fire until June 27.
Might have to update that "the ceasefire appeared largely to have held" lead... reports of Ukrainian chopper down near Slavyansk, 9 dead.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) June 24, 2014
URGENT: #Ukraine helicopter brought down by self defense forces fire near Slavyansk, several feared dead - @Reuters via military spokesman
— RT (@RT_com) June 24, 2014
So much for the ceasefire in east Ukraine, where the National Guard are claiming rebels shot down a helicopter: http://t.co/0i47fDOxc5
— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 24, 2014
.@UkraineSummit: Energy security is national security. As #Ukraine debates its future, I hope it chooses the road to energy independence.
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) June 24, 2014
By improving domestic production, import options & energy efficiency, #Ukraine can achieve its European choice and create a vibrant economy.
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) June 24, 2014
.@REHBudapest also spoke at @UkraineSummit, underscoring how energy efficiency can help make #Ukraine more independent from Russian gas.
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) June 24, 2014
.@kshn suggests (jokily) Putin doesnt need to use troops in Ukraine; can use them in newly independent states of Donetsk & Luhansk instead
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) June 24, 2014
Meanwhile, an op-ed in "The Moscow Times" has been pouring cold water on Poroshenko's peace plan:
[T]his long-awaited plan has very little chance of success. This is not because Poroshenko is incapable of implementing its provisions or because the plan is somehow defective, but because the main outside players — Russia on the one hand and the U.S. and the European Union on the other — have not yet resolved their fundamental geopolitical differences. Until Russia and the West reach a political compromise, it is unlikely that anyone, including Poroshenko, can stabilize the situation in Ukraine.
The fault in Poroshenko's plan is that it is primarily tactical, and not strategic.
The tactical elements of the peace plan are clearly outlined. The plan calls for the militias to disarm, end their occupation of public buildings and cities and free their hostages in return for amnesty for those not guilty of serious crimes, safe passage to Russia for the separatists and their mercenary cohorts and the creation of a 10-kilometer-wide buffer zone along the Ukrainian-Russian border. The plan also calls for Ukrainian television and radio broadcasts to resume and regional and local authorities to return to work.
The strategically important elements of Poroshenko's peace plan, meanwhile, call for constitutional reform, new parliamentary elections, the redistribution of some national income to regional and municipal budgets, the decentralization of authority and economic development aid for the eastern and southern regions.
However, the plan bypasses the strategically important question of the status of the Russian language as well as the overall issue of ideological tolerance for the values and beliefs of ethnic minorities, primarily in the country's south and east.
Read the entire article here.