Interfax quotes the head of the presidium of the self-styled "Donetsk People's Republic," Denis Pushilin, as denying that separatist forces have been receiving weapons from Russia:
"We started defending our territory effectively with our bare hands and occasionally with double-barrels. The DPR defense minister, Ihor Strelkov (Ihor Girkin, aka Strelkov), arrived in Slovyansk with a small squad armed with hunting rifles and left with armored vehicles, these were mainly trophies. We aren't getting arms supplies from anyone, although we would like to, in order to defend the civilian population more efficiently."
The head of Creon Energy advisers, Fares Kilzie, speculated to ITAR-TASS that the new sanctions will cost Russia's fuel and energy sector at least $150 billion-$200 billion.
French President Francois Holland says of the new sanctions against Russia:
"It was decided that the level of sanctions will be raised against entities -- that is groups, companies or individuals -- which helped the separatists or which have committed serious attacks on the sovereignty of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The first list will be established by the end of July...."
"The second decision taken today is to suspend the funding of the European Investment Bank as well as the EBRD regarding projects which up until then had been decided jointly and which will be interrupted."
The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on Moscow to support the peace plan offered by Ukraine, respect the cease-fire, and withdraw its mercenaries via the retreat corridor. It also asks Russia to release and urges the EU to "facilitate an agreement allowing Ukraine to pay a competitive price for its gas and condemn the political use of energy resources by Russia....[as] this undermines the EU's trust in Russia as a trading partner," a parliamentary press release says. The resolution also expresses a readiness to ratify association and trade deals with Kyiv.
Authorities in Kyiv are flatly blaming a Russian warplane for the downing yesterday of a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter over Ukraine.
A spokesman for Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council, Andriy Lysenko, says a "military plane from the air force of the Russian Federation carried out a rocket strike on a Ukrainian Air Force SU-25 as it fulfilled its task over the territory of Ukraine" on the evening of July 16.
He said the pilot was able to eject from the plane and was evacuated safely.
Russia has not yet commented on the allegation.
Kyiv said a Ukrainian military transport plane downed on July 14 was "probably" hit by a missile fired from the Russian side of the border.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the new sanctions at a news conference today:
"Of course it is a deepening of the economic sanctions. Indirectly the [previous] listing of [sanctioned] individuals already amounted to economic sanctions, but [the latest decision] is a deepening of that. We can debate whether it's a stage two or three [of the sanctions], but that is irrelevant from my point of view. Nevertheless, we are entering the economic sphere here."