Ukrainian military reports the capture of eight separatist fighters in Donbas:
That completes our coverage for today, June 28. Please join us again tomorrow.
Russian, French Top Diplomats To Meet In Paris June 29
Russian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, in Paris on June 29, with Ukraine, Syria, and Russia-EU relations on the agenda.
Cooperation on combating terrorism will be on the table, and "of course, they will review progress in solving the most pressing international problems such as the crises in Ukraine, Libya, Syria, and in the Middle East as a whole," said Russian ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Lavrov and Ayrault will also discuss relations between Russia and the European Union, she said, including "the possible consequences of the U.K. referendum" to leave the EU, she said.
Ayrault and other French leaders have recently expressed hopes of improving French-Russian relations. The French National Assembly also recently approved a nonbinding resolution calling for a lessening of EU sanctions on Russia.
Based on reporting by TASS
Ukrainian Opera Singer Killed While Fighting In Eastern Ukraine
A Ukrainian opera singer who left the Paris Opera two years ago to fight Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has reportedly been killed.
The death of Vasyl Slipak was confirmed by Ukraine’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe, Dmytro Kuleba, in a Twitter posting on June 29.
Media in Ukraine cite Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers in the region of Donetsk as saying that Slipak was killed by a sniper on June 29 near the village of Luhansk.
A native of Ukraine's western region of Lviv, Slipak graduated from the Lysenko Music Academy in Lviv in 1997. He was then invited to join the Paris Opera, where he worked for almost 20 years as an opera singer.
In 2014, Slipak returned to his homeland and joined Ukrainian volunteers fighting Russia-backed separatists in the country’s east.
Based on reporting by hromadske.tv and depo.ua
NATO, Partners Begin 'Rapid Trident' Exercises In Ukraine
An annual NATO-led training exercise has kicked off in western Ukraine near the Polish border. The 16th edition of the "Rapid Trident" exercise brings together troops from 11 countries, including NATO members such as the United States, Canada, Britain, and Turkey. It also includes non-NATO countries in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program, such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. It will focus on "peacekeeping and stability operations. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
