Citing time constraints, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided to give up personally posting messages on his social media accounts. From this point on, his private messages will be erased and official messages will be provided by his staff. Poroshenko made the announcement on Facebook, although it is not clear if he is talking about additional accounts as well.
Poroshenko says he may still occasionally write personal posts, and will preface them with his initials, PP.
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko gave blood at a Kyiv donation center, saying it was a "sacred duty for everyone" to support Ukrainian troops fighting in the east.
"I believe in our victory," she said. "I know Ukraine will be integral, strong, and there will be peace in Ukraine. Today, I believe we are just a few steps away from peace."
Ukraine's Defense Ministry says it is doubling the salaries of soldiers participating in what Kyiv calls its "antiterrorist operations," or ATOs, in the east.
Deputy Defense Mininster Petro Mekhed said July 8 that cash has been allocated from Ukraine's reserve fund.
The new salaries for the soldiers deployed in emergency operations will break down as follows:
-- conscripts: between 3,172-3,208 hryvnia ($269-$272)
-- enlisted soldiers: 5,700-8,445 hryvnia ($483-$716)
-- sergeants: 6,780-12,477 hryvnia ($575-$1058)
-- officers: 9,360-16,710 hryvnia ($793-$1417)
RFE's Crimea Desk reports that the peninsula's pro-Moscow finance minister says it will cost $1.5 million to change Crimea's road signs from Ukrainian to Russian.
Speaking July 8 at a meeting of the pro-Russian Crimean parliament -- which is not recognized by the region's native ethnic Tatars -- Vladimir Levandovsky said the issue "is very important for us politically."
Meanwhile in Donetsk, new bike racks going up.
Better to avoid dirt roads in Slovyansk.
Gazprom says Naftogaz Ukraine failed to meet its June deadline for gas payments. Gazprom says the total debt now stands at nearly $5.3 billion.