Barring any major developments that ends the live blogging for today.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko had harsh words for the French actor, Gerard Depardieu. Once considered a family friend, Yushchenko tells RFE/RL's Belarus Service that Depardieu's pro-Russian attitudes have "debased his nation."
Opposition party office attacked in Kharkiv:
At least 50 young men, many in balaclavas, have attacked the former office of the Party of Regions in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv.
The office is currently used by Ukrainian lawmaker Mykhaylo Dobkin, who represents the Opposition Bloc in parliament.
The attackers destroyed a minibus parked near the office and smashed the building's windows with stones on August 3.
The attackers said they were representing the Ukrainian right-wing nationalist group Right Sector and an organization called Public Guard.
They said they gathered at the site to protest against the Opposition Bloc's participation in local elections in October and attacked the building after Dobkin's people started shooting at them with firearms, wounding one activist.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is only about 20 kilometers from the Russian border. (UNIAN, Pravda.ua, Interfax)
More on ex-PM Azarov's 'salvation committee':
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has announced the formation of what he calls the Ukraine Salvation Committee.
Azarov told reporters in Moscow on August 3 that the newly established committee's goal was to "restore order in our home."
Azarov added that he could not name all the members of the newly established group, as many are in Ukraine and it is dangerous to disclose their names.
Azarov called the popular pro-European protests in Ukraine last year that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych a "coup."
According to Azarov, who along with Yanukovych and other top officials fled Ukraine and is currently residing in Russia, "it is impossible to restore accord in Ukraine without changing the country's current political leadership."
Azarov, 67, served as prime minister under Yanukovych from 2010 to 2014.
Both he and Yanukovych are wanted by the current Ukrainian authorities for crimes, among others, related to embezzlement and abuse of power.
An international warrant for Azarov's arrest has been issued by Interpol.
"I am sure, we will return [to Ukraine].... We are ready to assume responsibility for restoring Ukraine's development," Azarov added.
Within minutes of reports about the formation of the Ukraine Salvation Committee, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian government "has nothing to do with this initiative." (Interfax, TASS)
Four Ukrainian soldiers killed; Fresh Minsk peace talks:
The Ukrainian military says four of its soldiers have been killed in clashes with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in the past day.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on August 3 that 15 other soldiers had been wounded in the past 24 hours in fighting along the front line in parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
The casualties come as Ukrainian officials and rebel representatives began fresh talks in Minsk along with negotiators from Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) aimed at improving the conditions of a fragile cease-fire signed in February.
More than 6,500 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since fighting began there in April 2014. (AFP, Interfax)
On Kyiv's accusations that separatists working on a "dirty bomb":
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko speaking on July 30 in an interview with RFE/RL Belarus Service correspondent Hanna Sous in Kyiv about French actor Gerard Depardieu's remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine:
RFE/RL: The Ukrainian government has just announced that Gerard Depardieu will be barred from entering Ukraine for five years as a result of his recent anti-Ukrainian remarks. We all know that the French star met with you on several past visits to Ukraine; it was even said that the two of you were friends. He wore an embroidered Ukrainian shirt. Everything between you seemed fine. What's your reaction to Depardieu's recent anti-Ukrainian remarks? How do you reconcile them with your previous association with the star?
Viktor Yushchenko: I really don't understand Gerard's behavior during the past few years. In my relations with him and within our family circle, I was deeply convinced that [Depardieu] had Putin pegged correctly. He reiterated these impressions dozens of times. For ethical reasons, I won't quote the [exact] words he used, because you'd have to bleep out [those words] on the air. I was sure that he believed the things he was saying. Today, I can't imagine what ulterior motives might have forced a man his age to be so misguided. I think that he debased his nation with his pro-Russian stance over the past couple of years.