08:31
6.6.2014
Ukraine's Border Service says it destroyed separatist vehicles in Marynivka in a firefight:
08:03
6.6.2014
07:38
6.6.2014
And on Ukraine there's one message - that the violence in Eastern Ukraine is all Kiev's fault, that Ukraine is crawling with Russian hating neo-Nazis and fascists, and that it's the US government which is fuelling the crisis behind the scenes while Russia tries to act as peacemaker.
"Aggressive and deceptive propaganda... worse than anything I witnessed in the Soviet Union," is the verdict of Lev Gudkov, the director of the Levada Centre, Russia's most well respected polling organization.
"Aggressive and deceptive propaganda... worse than anything I witnessed in the Soviet Union," is the verdict of Lev Gudkov, the director of the Levada Centre, Russia's most well respected polling organization.
06:28
6.6.2014
"A U.S. State Department official said Ukraine’s Security Service announced that hackers using servers in Russia waged a distributed denial-of-service attack against the election commission website and posted false results. The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record and requested anonymity, said hackers also jammed phone lines to prevent regional election data from reaching the central facility."
05:53
6.6.2014
19:20
5.6.2014
This concludes the live blogging for today. Join us tomorrow.
19:15
5.6.2014
From our news desk, more on the closed border posts:
Ukraine says it has closed two border crossings with Russia after heavy fighting with pro-Russian insurgents.
The Border Guard Service said on June 5 that the posts in the eastern Luhansk region were "closed" and border guards had withdrawn because of the "extreme escalation" in the security situation.
The agency also said that fighting was continuing at the Marinovka post in the Donetsk region after separatists attacked the border post overnight.
Border guards have frequently clashed with the separatists who on June 2 attacked their headquarters in Luhansk.
Ukraine's government says fighters are crossing over from Russia.
Russia says thousands of refugees have crossed the border in the other direction, a claim Ukraine denies.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said on June 5 Ukraine's plans to close the border were "outrageous and inadmissible."
The Border Guard Service said on June 5 that the posts in the eastern Luhansk region were "closed" and border guards had withdrawn because of the "extreme escalation" in the security situation.
The agency also said that fighting was continuing at the Marinovka post in the Donetsk region after separatists attacked the border post overnight.
Border guards have frequently clashed with the separatists who on June 2 attacked their headquarters in Luhansk.
Ukraine's government says fighters are crossing over from Russia.
Russia says thousands of refugees have crossed the border in the other direction, a claim Ukraine denies.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said on June 5 Ukraine's plans to close the border were "outrageous and inadmissible."
18:10
5.6.2014
Some quotes from Kerry and Lavrov's presser:
"[Ukraine's President-elect Petro Poroshenko] intends to make a major effort to bring the country together. This is an opportunity, we hope, for Russia, the United States and others, all of them to come together in an effort to try to make a Ukraine that is strong economically, whose sovereignty is respected, whose independence is respected, but which clearly is not the pawn in a tug of war between other nations, but rather an independent, sovereign country, with the integrity of its borders and people, able to act as a bridge between East and West." -- Kerry
"We would like to see Ukraine a peaceful, stable place for all those who live in Ukraine, for them to be feeling equal, respected, and listened to, living in peace being a bridge not being a pawn." -- Lavrov
"We would like to see Ukraine a peaceful, stable place for all those who live in Ukraine, for them to be feeling equal, respected, and listened to, living in peace being a bridge not being a pawn." -- Lavrov
18:07
5.6.2014
From our news desk:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have said that Ukraine should be a peaceful, stable, and prosperous bridge between Russia and Europe.
Speaking before meeting Lavrov in Paris on June 5, Kerry said the Ukrainian people should be "able to act as a bridge between East and West.”
He expressed hope that Washington and Moscow will "find a way to cooperate on how to make this happen."
Lavrov agreed, adding that Moscow would like to see all those who live in Ukraine "to be feeling equal, respected, and listened to, living in peace being a bridge, not being a pawn."
He said Russia would "like to see other countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, many others also to be in peace, not to be used as a pawn."
Speaking before meeting Lavrov in Paris on June 5, Kerry said the Ukrainian people should be "able to act as a bridge between East and West.”
He expressed hope that Washington and Moscow will "find a way to cooperate on how to make this happen."
Lavrov agreed, adding that Moscow would like to see all those who live in Ukraine "to be feeling equal, respected, and listened to, living in peace being a bridge, not being a pawn."
He said Russia would "like to see other countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, many others also to be in peace, not to be used as a pawn."
18:01
5.6.2014