Kyiv says two soldiers killed in latest fighting:
Ukraine's military says two of its soldiers have been killed and six wounded in fighting between government forces and separatists in the country's east.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 21 that the casualties were caused by mortar fire and shelling in the Donetsk region during the previous 24 hours.
"Armed hostilities have risen significantly" around the port city of Mariupol, Lysenko added. "The area of our positions being shelled has increased."
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatists said one civilian was killed and at least another wounded, accusing government troops of shelling residential areas of Donetsk and other rebel-held towns.
Fighting has killed more than 6,400 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
In recent weeks, Kyiv and rebels have accused each other of increasing attacks despite a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in February.
The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France are due to meet in Paris on June 23 to try to salvage the accord. (AFP, Reuters)
Pentagon chief starts European tour, with Russia/Ukraine high on the agenda:
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is traveling to Europe for a visit that is focused on cooperation between NATO allies in the wake of Russian aggression in Crimea and Ukraine.
Pentagon said a key theme at all of Carter's stops will be how the United States, NATO, and NATO partners can best deal with the Kremlin following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and its military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Carter is due in Germany on June 22 for talks with the defense ministers of Germany, The Netherlands, and Norway.
Carter plans to travel on June 23 to Estonia's capital, Tallinn, where he is scheduled to meet with the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
All three countries have issued calls for the permanent presence of NATO troops in their territory amid mount fears of Baltic and Eastern European states about Russian military actions.
Carter then plans to visit Belgium to attend a NATO defense ministers meeting, his first since taking over as Pentagon chief in February.
He also plans a one-day visit on June 26 to Germany, where the United States has 65,000 troops stationed. (Reuters, AP, AFP)