Obama says Ukrainians rejected violence and corruption and chose democracy in their presidential election. He's praising Poroshenko for reaching out the country's restive east.
The AP reporter witnessed the helicopter's downing amid today's fighting in the city. It wasn't immediately clear what weapons the rebels used to shoot it down, where the helicopter fell or what happened to its crew.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal Monday in what could be an attempt to ease tensions with the West over Ukraine and avoid further sanctions.
Russia has strongly backed the Swiss-drafted road map, but Ukraine has remained cool to the plan and U.S. officials are skeptical of its prospects for success.
Putin on Wednesday had urged them to delay the referendum, which many fear could be a flashpoint for further violence between Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russia militants who have seized government buildings in about a dozen cities in eastern Ukraine.
Putin also said the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine — slated for May 25 — are a move "in the right direction," but repeated that constitutional reforms would have to precede any nationwide vote in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and pro-Russian separatist leaders in Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian cities of Lugansk and Donetsk were also on the list.
There are now more than a dozen hostages being held in Slovyansk, including a group of eight foreign military observers traveling under the auspices of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe.