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A woman carries a baby as she passes destroyed houses following what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces in the eastern town of Slovyansk on June 9.
A woman carries a baby as she passes destroyed houses following what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces in the eastern town of Slovyansk on June 9.
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Live Blog: Crisis In Ukraine (Archive)

Summary for June 9

-- Ukraine's Foreign Ministry says that Moscow and Kyiv have reached a "mutual understanding" on key parts of a plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko for ending violence in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.

-- Reports say up to 20 armed gunmen were trying to seize property from a factory (Topaz) that makes communications and electronic-warfare equipment in the Donetsk region.

-- A deputy foreign minister says Russia will consider any expansion of NATO forces near its borders a "demonstration of hostile intentions" and "take the necessary political and military-technological measures to support our security."

-- A two-man crew for Russian Zvezda TV arrived in Moscow after being released from detention in Ukraine.

-- Serbian officials say their own work on the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline will have to be suspended after Bulgaria stopped construction of its portion based on EU and U.S. concerns.

-- Ukrainian security forces are reportedly still battling pro-Russian separatists in the east near Slovyansk and Donetsk.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
08:12 20.5.2014
Kremlin propaganda chief Dmitry Kiselyov scoffs at the notion that there was anything sinister in Rossiya 1 TV's use of old footage from the North Caucasus to illustrate a detailed account alleging a civilian was killed by pro-Kyiv forces to send a message to pro-Russians.

It was simply a "random error" or maybe "a mistake in a computer or a young nymph editor," according to Kiselyov, the head of Russia's newly reorganized information agency, Rossiya Segodnya.

...and at the same time denies having seen the footage:

Here's our own Carl Schreck's report exposing the news program's video sleight of hand, which was published as part of RFE/RL's ongoing #UkraineUnspun series:

07:55 20.5.2014
From our newsroom this morning:
Reports from Russia say Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told troops to return to their permanent bases after spring military exercises near the border with Ukraine.

Shoigu's action comes one day after Russian news agencies said President Vladimir Putin had also ordered Russian forces near Ukraine back to their bases.

But NATO and the United States have said they'd seen no signs of any pullback since then.

Moscow has failed to carry out such promises before.

Russia has massed what NATO says are 40,000 soldiers near its border regions with Ukraine, where pro Russian separatists in the country's east have declared independent states.

Kyiv and its Western allies fear the Russian troops could be used to invade in support of the rebels following Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March.

21:21 19.5.2014
Barring any dramatic developments, we're now closing the live blog for today. Before we go, we'll leave you with this space-related update from our news desk:
NASA chief Charles Bolden has told reporters in Berlin that the International Space Station (ISS) can continue functioning without Russia.

Bolden was responding to recent comments made by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on May 13 that Russia does not intend to use the ISS after 2020 and that the American segment of the ISS could cannot exist without the Russian segment.

Bolden said today that, even if Russia withdrew from the ISS, no participating nation "is indispensable on the International Space Station."

Bolden pointed out that the ISS is jointly run by the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. He also said that NASA expects private companies to start transporting astronauts to the station by 2017.

Amid tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine crisis, Rogozin said Russia was concerned about continuing high-tech projects with "an unreliable partner" that is "politicizing everything."

20:40 19.5.2014

19:55 19.5.2014

19:49 19.5.2014

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17:37 19.5.2014

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