RFE's Yevhen Solonyna reports that the Verkhovna Rada has canceled its summer recess after a majority of lawmakers voted to remain in session because of fresh violence in the east. The parliament will now work continuously through September 2nd.
Serhiy Sobolev, the head of the Batkivshchyna parliament faction, said lawmakers -- with the exception of the Communists and the Party of Regions -- have approved the continuation of European integration and adopted a bill on military reforms that, among other things, changes the status of forces engaged in antiterrorist operations to that of formal combatants. The previous uncertainty on that issue had caused massive dissatisfaction among border guards, army soldiers, and members of the National Guard.
Political observer Oleksandr Paly said he approved of the decision to cancel summer recess. "It's a good thing the lawmakers will be at work. It gives them the possibility to support the antiterrorist operations, to introduce martial law if needed, or even to self-dissolve" to make way for fresh elections.
Novosti Donbassa: PrivatBank limiting temporarily limiting access to loans because of turbulent situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin due to discuss the situation in Ukraine during brief talks today in Minsk.
Yesterday in Donetsk.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has reported to Vladimir Putin that more than 65,000 soldiers in Russia's Central Military District passed a snap inspection with flying colors.
Shoigu said the inspection "reaffirmed" that the troops are ready to deploy as far away as 3,000 kilometers in 72 hours.
Equipment included in the exercise included 177 aircraft, 56 helicopters, and 5,500 armored cars and vehicles.
The Kremlin press service cited Shoigu as saying that this was the eighth such spot check and that the results "are getting better and better each time."
Andrei Yurov, a leading Russian human rights activist who has spent the past seven months monitoring events in Ukraine, was attacked on the street July 1 in the southern Russian city of Voronezh.
Yurov says two men in black ski masks struck him from behind and sprayed his face with zelyonka, a bright green Soviet-era antiseptic. A large poster threatening local human rights activists appeared in Voronezh five days before the attack.
Yurov is a member of Russia's presidential human rights council and a member of a rights monitoring mission in Crimea. Human Rights Watch has called on Russian law enforcement to seriously examine the "possibility that Yurov was targeted for his legitimate human rights work in Russia and Crimea."
ICYMI: RFE correspondent Dmitry Volchek speaks to six highly skilled Russian professionals about why they're pulling up stakes in Russia and moving to Ukraine.
Aleksei Ivanov, IT developer:
"I don't consider myself someone with a revolutionary mindset. I'm a supporter of evolution. It seems to me that Russia is just running in place... They will let your business grow up until a point, but then they'll start to either interfere or insert some officials as your partners. That kind of situation doesn't suit me."