Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with more details concerning the sanctions announced by the United States and some EU countries last night (From RFE/RL's news desk):
The European Union is planning to add five more people and Russia's Sberbank and VTB Bank on its sanctions list of Russian companies and individuals, "The Wall Street Journal" reports.
The report on wsj.com late last night was based on diplomatic sources and said the EU sanctions would limit the operational ability of major Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB Bank.
The newspaper did not give the names of the people who the diplomatic sources said would be added to the sanctions blacklist, but they were reported to be Russian oligarchs who have supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The report said the measures are part of a plan to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the United States and the EU accuse of providing training, personnel, and weapons to the separatists.
(wsj.com, ITAR-TASS)
We are now closing down the live blog for today. Don't forget that you can keep abreast of all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.
Here's another update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Ukraine has asked the United States for "additional security assistance," according to a Pentagon statement summarizing a call between Ukraine Minister of Defense Valeriy Heletey and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on July 28.
Hagel responded that the U.S. government would review such requests beginning with discussions via the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
The request comes as fighting between separatist militants and the Ukrainian government intensified in the area of eastern Ukraine near where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down.
The United States is giving the Ukrainian government $33 million in nonlethal military assistance.
However, thus far the Obama administration has refrained from giving the Ukrainian government any sort of lethal assistance such as ammunition or weapons.
This is what a war in Europe really looks like - superb reporting (as usual) by @annanemtsova: http://t.co/1YCQYmlW3Q
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) July 28, 2014
#Donetsk regional administration: Fourteen civilians killed in #Horlivka http://t.co/dUItoJfz8X
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) July 28, 2014
Parents of a #MH17 victim sit on a piece of wreckage as they visit the site: Editor's Choice: http://t.co/PE8QMjqYhs pic.twitter.com/8X4q9YAu7L
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 28, 2014
From our newsroom:
The leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy agreed by telephone on July 28 they would impose new sanctions on Russia for its role in the crisis in Ukraine.
The French president's office released a statement about the call that said the five leaders "confirmed…their intention to adopt new measures against Russia."
There were no details about the sanctions the five discussed.
The statement added the leader said they would watch carefully to see if Russia was giving direct military support to the separatists.
The call came as the United States and the European Union weigh tougher sanctions against Russia amid the crisis over Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which went down over eastern Ukraine July 17.
The West accuses separatists in eastern Ukraine of shooting down the passenger jet and blames Russia for supplying the rebels with equipment able to do so.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Paul Goble argues that "until recently at least, [Putin] has behaved more like the man who killed a frog by slowly bringing the water in a pot to boil rather than simply hacking off its head."
On the topic of the IMF and World Bank, btw, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who offered his resignation last week, told a news conference in Kyiv today, according to Reuters:
"I would like to underscore that the failure to pass these laws will lead to the absence of financing for the Ukrainian Armed Forces because the Ukrainian Finance Ministry clearly reported that as of August 1, we have no money to pay salaries to the Armed Forces, National Guard and all others who are defending Ukraine. There will be no money for restoration of infrastructure in the eastern regions. There will be no money at all for supporting Ukraine in general. Additionally, it means a breakdown of our program with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank."
No news yet on how Ukrainian Foreign Minister Klimkin's meeting went with IMF Managing Director Christine Legarde.
This tweet from before the meeting says, "Conversation will be extremely important. I don't need to explain why."