Good morning!
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
RFE/RL's Christopher Miller has tracked down the enigmatic political consultant who hired a DC lobbying firm for Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Marcus Cohen told RFE/RL he paid nearly $70,000 out of his own pocket – out of good will toward the new Ukrainian president.
Hmm...
And here's another Ukraine news story from this morning:
Ukraine, Turkey Mull Free Trade Deal
Ukraine and Turkey are considering a free trade agreement that could see two-way commerce more than double to $10 billion yearly, a statement says on the Ukrainian presidential website.
The statement cited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a joint news conference he gave on August 7 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, following their meeting in Ankara.
“Bilateral trade volume in 2018 was more than $4 billion,” Zelenskiy said. “I’m certain that this is far from the limit of our potential.”
Erdogan noted the two spoke about “all aspects of Turkish-Ukrainian relations,” saying that “now is the time to finalize the negotiation process for a free trade agreement” that have been going on for many years.
Zelenskiy is on a two-day visit to Turkey.
He is also scheduled to meet members of the Ukrainian and Crimean-Tatar community, as well as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christianity.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service
Here's an item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Russian Citizen Detained Planning Alleged Sabotage At Ukraine Military Site
Ukraine’s SBU security service says it has detained a Russian man on suspicion of preparing an act of sabotage at a “strategically important military site.”
The man, who was not identified, was detained at his residence in the central Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, according to a statement on August 8.
It said the suspect was in possession of three homemade explosive devices, two kilograms of chemicals, an electronic detonator, two types of explosives, notes with chemical formulas, and explosives-making literature.
The statement said he had gathered intelligence at a military airfield and was found to have materials that prove he had been collecting information about the facility.
It didn’t specify which military site the Russian was allegedly targeting.
The man, who is now in pretrial detention, is facing charges of conducting subversive activity and illegally handling weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
If found guilty, he faces between eight and 15 years in prison for the greater charge of subversion.