The leaders of Germany and the United States hammered home a tough line on Russia as they kicked off a G7 summit dominated by crises in Ukraine and Greece.
US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Western sanctions must remain in place against Russia until it complies with a ceasefire deal with Ukraine.
Head of the Russian Space Agency Igor Komarov declared that Russia will be continuing launches from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome until 2024, when it will switch to its own Vostochny Cosmodrome.
The Kremlin accused Ukrainian forces of "provocative actions" as fresh clashes flared in east Ukraine after Kiev said pro-Moscow rebels had launched a new assault.
European parliament head Martin Schulz said the Russian ambassador to the EU was barred access to the institution in retribution for a travel ban imposed by Moscow.
A Russian freelance journalist who claims she went undercover as a pro-government Internet troll says she is suing her former employer in a bid to expose the workings of the Kremlin's online army.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the "absurdity" of EU complaints over a travel ban imposed by Moscow on 89 Europeans over the Ukraine crisis.