Moscow opened a new economic front in its showdown with Ukraine on June 16, when the Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off natural gas supplies to the country, saying the government in Kiev had failed to make payments for past deliveries. The move came days after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko alleged that Russia had sent tanks to separatists in eastern Ukraine. The skirmishing threatens to intensify unrest in the region, where the U.N. says that more than 350 people, including 257 civilians, have been killed since the start of a pro-Russian uprising in April. On June 14, rebels shot down a military plane in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, killing 49 people.
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