Internal Security News

• (Interfax Ukraine) Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that columns with military equipment are coming from the Russian Federation through checkpoints on the eastern border of Ukraine that had been seized by illegal armed groups.
   
• (Reuters) Russia did not immediately respond to Avakov’s accusations that three Russian tanks had been allowed into Ukraine to help the separatists, but Reuters correspondents claimed to have seen three tanks in the border town of Snizhne in east Ukraine.
   
• (RIA Novosti) Pro-Russian former Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev stated that the self-proclaimed ‘People’s Republics’ in Donetsk and Luhansk were working on drafting a joint constitution.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) Maidan activists began picketing the administration building of the State Border Guard in Kyiv, demanding a meeting with State Border Guard Service Chief Mykola Lytvyn and his resignation. Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said that if the activists don't release the administration building of the State Border Guard Service in Kyiv in the shortest terms, the police will do it with its own forces.
   
• (RIA Novosti) A rebel spokesman told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency that rebels were fighting a force of 40 Ukrainian tanks north of the city of Luhansk.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian President Poroshenko said that he has not ruled out holding a roundtable in Donetsk involving various parties to the conflict, who support his peace plan.
   
• (ITAR-TASS) The leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic claimed that about 15,000 refugees have crossed the border between Ukraine and Russia fleeing from areas of combat operation in Ukraine’s southeastern regions.
   
• (ITAR-TASS) The self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic addressed Russia and another 14 states asking them to recognize its independence.
   

International Observation Missions News  

• The secretary-general of the OSCE visited a camp in Russia for refugees from the conflict in Ukraine's east and called for the fighting to stop.
   

Diplomacy News

• (Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that three Russian tanks entered Ukraine and were engaged in fighting with Ukrainian troops near the town of Snizhne. Avakov was quoted as saying “Tonight, three T-72 tanks crossed Ukraine's state border from Russia. One tank is in the town of Snizhne. Two other tanks moved out of the town. In the vicinity of Snizhne these tanks were intercepted by Ukrainian troops. The fight is ongoing. There are reports that a Russian T-72 was hit."
   
• Ukrainian Foreign Minster Andrey Deschytsia said that Ukraine is waiting from Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in Donbas, otherwise, it will ask the international community to apply the next wave of sanctions.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it was not currently preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
   
• Russian Permanent Representative at the UN Security Council Vitaliy Churkin was instructed to submit another draft resolution on Ukraine to the UN Security Council.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Deschytsia said that Ukraine is waiting for Russia's response to the proposals worked out by a trilateral contact group on settling the situation in Donbas, but so far it has received none.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) Deschytsia said that the European Union may pass a decision about the transition to the second phase of the introduction of a visa-free regime with Ukraine at a meeting of the EU Council on June 23.
   
• (RIA Novosti) Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Ella Pamfilova stated that Russian human rights activists should boost partnership with their Western colleagues, hold constructive conversations with them, but not pander or conform to them.
   
• (Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko briefed US Vice President Joseph Biden about the progress made by the trilateral contact group for implementing Ukrainian president's peace plan for eastern Ukraine. Biden expressed support for the peace plan.
   
• EU Ambassador to Ukraine Jan Tombinski said that Ukraine could switch to a visa-free regime with the EU by the end of this year.
   
• Russian presidential chief of staff stated that Russia demands that Ukraine open humanitarian corridors in the southeastern part of the country.
   
• (RIA Novosti) Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia will not introduce advance gas payments for Ukraine and review its gas debt downwards if Kiev pays off $2 billion of its gas debt by June 16 and clears arrears in full by June 26.
   
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was perplexed by the European Commission's proposal on holding top-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on gas supply.
   
• (RIA Novosti) The CEO of Russia’s Gazprom said that Gazprom will not postpone transferring Ukraine to prepayment anymore, and expects funds by 10 a.m. on June 16.
   
• Lavrov said that Russia and Ukraine are maintaining political contacts at different levels and in different formats.
   
• (RIA Novosti) Russia deployed a number of troops in the military exercise in Kaliningrad Region comparable to the number of NATO drill participants in the Baltic region, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported.
   

GOVERNANCE

(Interfax Ukraine) Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski said the economic part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will be signed on June 27, but nothing prevents the Ukrainian government from launching economic reforms immediately.

(Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Deschytsia stated that no further amendments will be made to the text of the economic part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

(Interfax Ukraine) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dismissed chairman of the Batkivschyna Moloda all-Ukrainian youth public organization Ivan Krulko as presidential adviser. Krulko was appointed by interim President Turchynov.

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