Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, says the separatist leader Igor Girkin -- better known by the nickname "Strelkov" -- has been given an ultimatum by fellow separatists to return money and goods plunderd by the militants.
"Internal conflicts between the terrorists have intensified," Lysenko said. "Girkin's inner circle have accused the head bandit of treason and stealing property plundered from Slovyansk."
Gazprom says Naftogaz Ukraine failed to meet its June deadline for gas payments. Gazprom says the total debt now stands at nearly $5.3 billion.
Better to avoid dirt roads in Slovyansk.
Meanwhile in Donetsk, new bike racks going up.
RFE's Crimea Desk reports that the peninsula's pro-Moscow finance minister says it will cost $1.5 million to change Crimea's road signs from Ukrainian to Russian.
Speaking July 8 at a meeting of the pro-Russian Crimean parliament -- which is not recognized by the region's native ethnic Tatars -- Vladimir Levandovsky said the issue "is very important for us politically."
Ukraine's Defense Ministry says it is doubling the salaries of soldiers participating in what Kyiv calls its "antiterrorist operations," or ATOs, in the east.
Deputy Defense Mininster Petro Mekhed said July 8 that cash has been allocated from Ukraine's reserve fund.
The new salaries for the soldiers deployed in emergency operations will break down as follows:
-- conscripts: between 3,172-3,208 hryvnia ($269-$272)
-- enlisted soldiers: 5,700-8,445 hryvnia ($483-$716)
-- sergeants: 6,780-12,477 hryvnia ($575-$1058)
-- officers: 9,360-16,710 hryvnia ($793-$1417)
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko gave blood at a Kyiv donation center, saying it was a "sacred duty for everyone" to support Ukrainian troops fighting in the east.
"I believe in our victory," she said. "I know Ukraine will be integral, strong, and there will be peace in Ukraine. Today, I believe we are just a few steps away from peace."