Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Latest from our news desk: Poroshenko Says Ukraine Will 'Do Everything' To Retake Crimea
President Petro Poroshenko has said Ukraine "will do everything to restore control over Crimea."
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on June 5, Poroshenko said, "every day and every moment we will do everything to return Crimea to Ukraine."
Poroshenko vowed to continue working with international partners to maintain sanctions against Russia over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
"It is important not to give Russia a chance to break the world's pro-Ukrainian coalition," Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko also reiterated that the threat of a Russian invasion is “unprecedentedly high.”
In his annual address to parliament on June 4, Ukraine's president warned his country there is a "colossal threat" that large-scale fighting could resume in the east, where fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists has killed more than 6,400 since April 2014.
U.S. officials to discuss Ukraine strategy, Russia sanctions:
Defense Secretary Ash Carter is summoning top U.S. defense and diplomatic officials to Germany June 5 to assess the effectiveness of NATO's strategy toward Moscow in response to the Ukraine crisis.
About two dozen generals and diplomats will discuss privately whether the political will is still in place in Europe to maintain sanctions on Russia.
While they will also discuss military options, including directly arming Ukraine, Carter "believes very strongly that the economic sanctions are the most important part of putting leverage on Russia right now," one official told dpa.
Carter admitted June 3 that so far the sanctions have not had the desired effect.
"We have to take another look at what we are doing here," he told troops in Stuttgart, descrying the "sad turn" taken by Russia in the last year.
The meeting comes as a major battle erupted in eastern Ukraine, breaking the fragile February cease fire agreement. (Reuters, AP, dpa)
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Thursday, June 4, 2015. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.