Excerpt:
Ukrainian political prisoner Yuriy Soloshenko was released from Russia on June 14. He reports that he met and talked to Russian officers in the prison hospital. They readily named the numbers of Russian military units that were sent to fight in Ukraine.
Yuriy Soloshenko stated that these Russian army officers were imprisoned because they disagreed with Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“I was with Russian officers who described what was happening, told me the numbers of military units and the names of the soldiers who were sent to fight in Ukraine. I know for a fact that if not for Russian intervention, we’d be living peacefully and quietly in our country.”
This ends our live blogging for June 18. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
A Day With Ukraine's Frontline Medics
Bullet wounds, shrapnel, loss of blood -- it's all in a day's work for medical volunteers in Avdiyivka, where a cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists often exists in name only. (Levko Stek and Marian Kushnir, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
A Waltz Amid Ruins
Ukrainian students were determined to hold their graduation ball in their old school building -- even though it was blasted to pieces in fighting.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
