Street patrols which President Vladimir Putin called to renew in his speech to the Interior Ministry in March are now being deployed, Kommersant and Gazeta.ru report.
Ukrainska Pravda reports that Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Presidential Administration on the military operation in the south-east, has told reporters at a briefing today that three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and one wounded over the last 24 hours.
The US State Department has announced that Secretary of State John Kerry is travelling to Sochi to meet with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
The Donetsk regional branch of the Interior Ministry has announced that a civilian has been killed by shelling in the Ukrainian-held village of Vasilevka, north-east of Donetsk.
The Ukrainian military has announced that five servicemen were wounded over the last 24 hours.
At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there was “progress” with the Minsk peace deal in Ukraine:
While there was a reduction in the number of attacks yesterday evening, this morning saw shelling in both the Lugansk region and the Shirokino area.
The Ukrainian military’s ATO press centre claims this morning that Russian-backed forces violated the ceasefire 11 times between 18:00 and midnight yesterday.
Grani.ru reports that at least 65 protesters have been arrested on Bolotnaya square in Moscow today at a demonstration in support of political prisoners held since the major anti-government protests there on May 6, 2012.
Interfax-Belarus reports that the meeting trilateral Contact Group has begun in Minsk.
