And now here's an item from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Poroshenko Opens Ukraine-EU Summit In Kyiv
Talks are under way at an EU-Ukraine summit in the Ukrainian capital.
President Petro Poroshenko opened the event on July 13 by lauding cooperation between the European Union and his country.
"On June 11, precisely one month ago, Ukrainians got the full taste of European freedom -- visa-free travel to the EU," Poroshenko said. "More than 100,000 holders of Ukrainian biometric passports have used their visa-free-travel right already."
He said these Ukrainians have seen with their own eyes why Kyiv aspires to closer relations with the EU.
Poroshenko also expressed gratitude for the EU's support in his country's conflict with Russia, which annexed the Ukrainian province of Crimea in 2014 and then inflamed a separatist conflict in parts of eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
Poroshenko thanked the EU for extending its economic sanctions against Russia and for its "clearly articulated message that the sanctions will remain in place" until Russia completely abides by its commitments under the Minsk agreements on resolving the war in eastern Ukraine.
"I hope that one day…we will hold another Ukraine-EU summit in Donetsk and in Yalta," Poroshenko said, referring to a city in the separatist-held part of eastern Ukraine and another in Russian-occupied Crimea.
European Council President Donald Tusk urged Ukrainians to remain united and avoid internal conflicts, while European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on Kyiv to do more to battle corruption.
On July 11, the European Union formally approved an Association Agreement with Ukraine, which will take effect on September 1.
Many parts of the Association Agreement have been provisionally applied since 2014, but the adoption of the agreement will ensure closer cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in areas such as foreign policy, justice, education, science, and technology.
The economic part of the agreement, called the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is also intended to open up the EU market to Ukrainian goods and will align the Ukrainian economy with EU standards by harmonizing laws and regulations
With reporting by TASS
Here's an item from our news desk that also pertains to Ukraine:
NATO-Russia Council Expected To Discuss Flight Incidents, Ukraine
A meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the second this year, has begun in Brussels.
The July 13 talks are expected to focus on measures to reduce tensions and risks after recent incidents involving maneuvering by warplanes flying over the Baltic Sea.
Russian state media reported the sides will also discuss the war in Ukraine between the government and separatists who are receiving military, economic, and political support from Moscow.
Speaking in Kyiv on July 10, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Moscow to remove "its thousands of soldiers from Ukraine and stop supporting militants with command-and-control and military equipment."
Russia has denied military involvement in the conflict in Ukraine despite substantial evidence it has provided troops, mercenaries, and military equipment via the part of Ukraine's border that is controlled by the separatists.
Before the NATO-Russia Council meeting, NATO officials told journalists they will press for Russian pilots to file flight plans, respond to air traffic control, or identify themselves with cockpit transmitters when flying in the Baltic area.
NATO said last month it tracked three Russian aircraft over the sea, including two jets which it said did not respond to air traffic control or requests to identify themselves.
Moscow maintains that all Russian flights over the Baltic comply with international law.
For its part, Russia said it scrambled a jet last month to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 bomber it said was flying over the Baltic, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.
The NATO-Russia Council is a forum intended to prevent such tensions from escalating.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
From the EU's trade commissioner: