And now for something completely different... (We liked the cake-cutting bit at the end):
Residents of Ukraine's central Cherkasy region didn't let the conflict to the east interfere with a bit of fun during their fourth annual Tractor Fest. Farmers and others in the village of Yablunivka showed off their skills maneuvering farm equipment as they raced to stack hay bales, balanced on two wheels, and sliced cake with machine-operated tools. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Here's another item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused an embattled consumer rights group that has cautioned Russians against traveling to Crimea of "serving the interests of foreign states."
Putin was speaking on June 23 at a session of Russia's Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body, a day after Russia's state media watchdog announced that it had blocked the website of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights.
The Prosecutor-General's Office, meanwhile, has launched a probe against the nongovernmental organization, which is on the Justice Ministry's list of foreign agents.
The group published a notice last week warning Russians of potential problems if they travel to the "occupied territory" of Crimea, which it said is still a part of Ukraine according to international agreements.
The group's chairman, Mikhail Anshakov, said the memo was released following multiple complaints from Russians unable to get a Schengen visa after travelling to the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed in March 2014.
(AFP, AP)
More on the Simon Ostrovsky visa saga: