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.
-- 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
Bezler, the man ordering the two apparent executions in the horrific video and threatening more, is one of those targeted by EU sanctions.
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The man in the video is apparently Igor Mykolaiovych Bezler, head of a separatist militia in Donetsk. (Warning: GRAPHIC CONTENT).
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A Reuters photo gallery of residents fleeing Slovyansk, an area of heavy fighting in the Donetsk region.
Photo Gallery:
Residents Leaving Slovyansk
Ukrainian government forces battled separatists with artillery and automatic weapons on June 4 as fighting raged for a second straight day in and around the eastern town of Slovyansk, forcing many frightened residents to flee and stay in temporary accomodation in various cities in eastern Ukraine -- in the towns of Nyzhnya Krynka, Ilovaysk, and Makiyivka.
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Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov (in file photo) was recalled after then-President Yanukovych fled Ukraine.
Russia says it will be represented at this week's Ukrainian presidential inauguration by its ambassador to Kyiv, who will return after having been recalled in the aftermath of Kremlin-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster in late February.
Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin announcing the plan and adding that Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov is headed back to the Ukrainian capital.
Karasin said Zurabov will attend the inauguration and not a reception afterward.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says around 20 heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance, including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, EU President Herman Van Rompuy, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.
Russia has not officially recognized Poroshenko's election but has indicated its willingness to cooperate with the new leadership.
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Lenta.ru claims Klitschko was late to his swearing-in, delaying the ceremony by eight minutes. No word on whether he arrived in a robe.
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Russian news agencies have quoted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev lashing out at G7 leaders and Ukrainian officials. From our newsroom:
...Medvedev has criticized a statement from leaders of the leading industrial nations that slammed Russia's "unacceptable interference in Ukraine's sovereign affairs."
Addressing a session of the Russian government on June 5, Medvedev called a June 4 statement from "the so-called G7," which encouraged Ukrainian authorities "to maintain a measured approach" in addressing its separatist insurgency, "cynicism without limit."
Medvedev also lashed out at the Ukrainian government's denials there were no refugees in the country.
Medvedev said that was a "lie" and that "everyday some 3,000 people from Ukraine arrive just in [Russia's] Rostov Oblast," inferring there were more refugees from Ukraine arriving in other Russian areas.
Of those, Medvedev said some 4,000 Ukrainians had officially requested refugee status.
Ukrainian authorities have criticized what they call Russia's attempts to portray the situation in eastern Ukraine as a humanitarian crisis.
