People say goodbye to volunteer soldiers in Kiev, Ukraine, before they leave for the eastern part of the country to join the ranks of a special battalion on Monday, June 23. Here's a look at the upheaval that has persisted in eastern Ukraine since the election of President Petro Poroshenko. 
People take refuge in a bomb shelter during clashes between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russia fighters in Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Sunday, June 22. 
Riot police surround the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian monastery in Kiev where radical masked activists gather to protest against separatists on June 22. 
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko awards wounded soldiers with state awards in a military hospital in Kiev on Saturday, June 21. 
Debris lies scattered at an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine, on Saturday, June 14, after the crash of a Ukrainian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane. A military spokesman said the aircraft was shot down by pro-Russian separatists, killing all 49 aboard. 
A pro-Russian fighter collects ammunition from the debris of a downed Ukrainian military aircraft on June 14. Pro-Russian separatists armed with antiaircraft machine guns shot down the military transport plane, killing all 49 on board, Ukrainian officials said. 
Pro-Russian fighters walk past the wreckage of the downed Ukrainian military aircraft. 
A military vehicle was destroyed during a clash between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists Friday, June 13, in Mariupol, Ukraine. 
Locals in Mariupol gather around a burning military vehicle at the site of a battle between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian fighters on June 13. 
A pro-Russian fighter in Slovyansk, Ukraine, checks a woman's documents as she leaves the city on Thursday, June 12. 
A pro-Russian fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in Slovyansk on June 12. 
A girl looks out of a bus window as she leaves Slovyansk on Monday, June 9. 
Poroshenko holds the ceremonial mace during his inauguration ceremony Saturday, June 7, in Kiev, Ukraine. Poroshenko was elected three months after the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych. 
A Ukrainian tank opens fire during a battle with pro-Russian separatist fighters in Slovyansk on Friday, June 6. 
A Ukrainian soldier prepares explosives during a battle with pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk on June 6. 
A Ukrainian soldier observes the road at a checkpoint outside of Amvrosiivka, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 5. 
Ukrainian soldiers take position during a battle with pro-Russian separatists outside Slovyansk on June 5. 
Pro-Russian militants stand guard at a barricade and checkpoint in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, June 1. 
A Ukrainian soldier shoots a grenade launcher during a battle with pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk on Saturday, May 31. 
A protester from Kiev's Independence Square gestures May 31 as fellow protesters burn tires to protect their barricades from being dismantled by communal services. 
A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier takes position during a battle with pro-Russian separatist fighters May 31 in Slovyansk. 
Ukrainian soldiers rest at a checkpoint outside Slovyansk on Thursday, May 29. 
Smoke rises from a shot-down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Slovyansk on May 29. 
A man stands in front of a truck that was bombed by Ukrainian soldiers during clashes with armed rebels Tuesday, May 27, in Donetsk. 
Medical staff prepare to clean the body of a pro-Russian militant at the Kalinina morgue in Donetsk on May 27. 
The body of a pro-Russian militant lies on a stretcher at a morgue in Donetsk on May 27. He was killed in clashes around Donetsk's airport, which was seized by pro-Russian separatists a day earlier. Ukrainian forces moved in and reclaimed the facility. 
Firefighters work on extinguishing a fire at a local sports hall in Donetsk on May 27. 
People pile up sandbags to set up a shooting position on the road leading from the Donetsk airport on May 27. 
A man dressed in a prisoner costume takes part in a protest against government corruption May 27 in Kiev, Ukraine. 
Pro-Russian militants take position on the roof of Donetsk International Airport on Monday, May 26. 
A pro-Russian militant takes position on the roof of the Donetsk airport on May 26. 
A man runs for cover during fighting around the airport on May 26. 
Smoke rises from the airport on May 26 after an airstrike by the Ukrainian military. 
Pro-Russian gunmen take positions near the airport on May 26. 
Men stand next to pro-Russian militants as a woman runs away during clashes near the airport on May 26. 
A pro-Russian militant guards a checkpoint on May 26, blocking a highway that links the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with Rostov-on-Don, Russia. 
A pro-Russian militant teaches recruits how to use a machine gun in Senyonovka, Ukraine, on May 26. 
A woman walks May 26 near barricades built by protesters in Kiev's Independence Square. Vitali Klitschko, Kiev's future mayor and a former boxing champion, promised to dismantle the iconic protest encampment that helped oust Yanukovych but now clogs traffic and draws public complaints. 
Ukraine's newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko, talks alongside Klitschko, right, during a news conference in Kiev on May 26. Poroshenko, a billionaire candy tycoon known as the "Chocolate King," is a seasoned politician known for his pro-European Union views. 
Election commission officials count ballots at a polling station in Kiev on Sunday, May 25. 
Artist Ivan Voronov, 91, and his wife, Svetlana Samoilechenko, 86, cast votes from their Kiev home on May 25. 
An elderly woman casts her vote May 25 as a mobile Ukrainian election committee visited Orane, a village north of Kiev. 
A woman holds the hand of a pro-Russian gunman in Donetsk's Lenin Square on May 25. A large separatist rally was held in Donetsk around lunchtime. The protesters chanted pro-Russian slogans as they were addressed by separatist leaders. 
A man prepares a ballot at a polling station in the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillya on May 25. See the crisis in Ukraine before the election
- Militants hit helicopter with missile, Ukrainian spokesman says
- All nine aboard are believed to have been killed, spokesman says
- Attack comes less than week after Ukraine's President declared cease-fire with separatists
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Militants shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter late Tuesday afternoon in eastern Ukraine, less than a week after Ukraine's President declared a cease-fire in Kiev's fight against pro-Russian separatists, a Ukrainian anti-terror spokesman said.
All nine people who were aboard the Mi-8 helicopter near Slovyansk are believed to have died, said Vladislav Seleznev, spokesman for Ukraine's anti-terror operation.
A missile fired from a man-portable air-defense system hit the helicopter, Seleznev said. Afterward, the militants who brought down the aircraft hid in a nearby village, Bylbasovka, according to Seleznev.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since March when Russia annexed the previously Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and massed troops along other parts of its border with Ukraine.
Ukraine's government in Kiev has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment to cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russia separatists, who have led uprisings in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine announces unilateral cease-fire 
Deadline for Ukraine's gas debt passes 
Inside Slovyansk: A week of bombardment Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday declared a cease-fire with pro-Russia separatists, saying military units would respond only if they're attacked. He warned militants to abandon their weapons before the cease-fire expires on June 27.
The cease-fire includes the closure of the Ukraine-Russia border, and Poroshenko called for changes to Ukraine's Constitution to decentralize power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week welcomed the cease-fire and said it "should be used to begin constructive negotiations and political compromises between the opponent parties in eastern Ukraine," according to the Kremlin.
On Tuesday, Putin asked Russia's upper house of Parliament to cancel a March 1 resolution that authorizes Russia to use force in Ukraine, state-run news agency ITAR-Tass reported. Lawmakers had passed that resolution weeks before Russia annexed Crimea.
Russia's annexation of Crimea and the pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine came after Ukraine's Parliament ousted Viktor Yanukovych from the presidency on February 22.
Yanukovych's departure came after months of protests in Kiev -- demonstrations motivated in part by his decision to back out of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
Read: Ukrainian border guards hurt in separatist attack on 1st day of cease-fire
Read: Ukraine implements cease-fire in restive east
Read: Putin, Ukraine leader talk peace in phone call
CNN's Alla Eshchenko and Boriana Milanova contributed to this report.
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