The Italian parliament has ratified the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, making Italy the 23rd European country to ratify the document. Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Fabrizio Romano made the statement on his Twitter account.
The process has not yet been completed in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece or Cyprus.
The association agreement was signed in March 2014, however, for it to come into effect Ukraine and all 28 EU members must ratify it.
Russian Court Sentences One In Pro-Ukraine Stunt Case
By RFE/RL's Russian Service
MOSCOW -- A Moscow court on September 10 acquitted four people and found one guilty of hooliganism and vandalism for taking part in a pro-Ukraine stunt.
The five, including two women, went on trial on August 17.
They were accused of taking part in a stunt in which a Soviet red star atop a Stalin-era skyscraper was painted in the yellow-and-blue colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Four defendants were accused of drawing attention to the painted star and a Ukrainian flag hoisted from it by parachuting from the 176-meter building.
The fifth defendant, Vladimir Podrezov, was sentenced to 27 months in jail.
The court found Podrezov guilty of helping Ukrainian stunt daredevil Pavlo Ushyvets -- known by the nickname Mustang Wanted -- to paint the star and raise the flag.
Ushyvets, who is in Ukraine, has announced on Facebook that he carried out the stunt alone.
Nemtsov, Savchenko Nominated For Sakharov Prize
By RFE/RL
BRUSSELS -- Russia’s slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and imprisoned Ukrainian military pilot and parliament member Nadiya Savchenko are among the nominees for the 2015 Sakharov Prize.
The 50,000-euro prize, established by the European Parliament in 1988, is awarded every year to individuals or groups of people who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought.
Nemtsov, a former Russian deputy prime minister of Russia, was murdered in February 2015. He was a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin.
Savchenko was captured in 2014 by Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine and handed over to Russia, where she is being tried on charges of participating in the murder of Russian journalists.
The nominees also include three whistleblowers -- Edward Snowden, Antoine Deltour, and Stephanie Gibaud -- Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, and Somalian activist Edna Adan Ismail.
The winner will be decided in October.
Here's the latest map of the situation in the Donbas region, issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (click image to enlarge):
RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak has sent us this item about a European Parliament motion concerning jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko, among others:
STRASBOURG, France – EU lawmakers have urged Russia to immediately release the Estonian police officer Eston Kohver, Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov, and civil activist Olexandr Kolchenko.
In a resolution backed by the European Parliament's major political groups on September 10, the lawmakers condemn the "blatant violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Estonia through the illegal kidnapping of citizens of both countries."
Kohver was kidnapped in Estonia in September 2014 and was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison in Russia. Sentsov and Kolchenko were sentenced to 20 and 10 years, respectively, after being arrested in the Crimea in May 2014.
The resolution says Russian courts are not "competent to judge acts committed outside the internationally recognized territory of Russia."
It also calls on European Council President Donald Tusk and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to come up with "a comprehensive policy strategy which would enable the EU to regain the initiative and to pursue a more clear-cut policy towards Russia."
So-called “DPR” and “LPR” officials have agreed to hold elections in accordance with Ukrainian law provided separatists hold consultations with the Ukrainian side prior to them.
“The first condition for the preparation of elections in Donbas is direct consultations and coordination of modalities of these elections." Said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "Donetsk and Luhansk are ready to hold them in accordance with Ukrainian law. They are ready for OSCE observers to have a right to monitor the process, but they want to discuss all of this during consultations with the Ukrainian authorities,” said Lavrov.