As our news desk reports, Ukraine-Russia-OSCE talks are set to take place today in Minsk:
Russia's ambassador to Kyiv, Mikhail Zurabov, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, and OSCE representatives are expected to meet later on July 31 to discuss securing access to the site where a Malaysian airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine earlier this month.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine has prevented representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from reaching the crash site.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s press service says the talks will also focus on the release of hostages Kyiv says are being held by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's office said on July 30 that Minsk is hosting the trilateral talks at Poroshenko's request. (UNIAN, BelTA, ITAR-TASS)
Good morning! As our news desk reports, Australia says there may be dozens of bodies still at the MH17 crash site:
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says there could still be as many as 80 bodies of passengers from the downed Malaysian airliner at the crash site.
Bishop said on July 31 that a team of Australian and Dutch police and crash investigators has received the "strongest possible support" from the Ukrainian government but fighting near the crash site continues.
She added that she feared that "Russia is actively undermining this process."
The international team has tried for four days to make its way from Donetsk to the crash site but has had to turn back because of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists.
Ukrainian forces are in control of part of the site, which is many kilometers long and lies in both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russia is accused of actively supporting the rebels, which it denies. (dpa, Australian Broadcasting Company)
This ends our live-blogging on the crisis in Ukraine for July 30. Be sure and check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
The rebuilding of Slovyansk continues:
The EU has released its new sanctions list:
The European Union late on July 30 released the list of the individuals and entities targeted in its latest round of sanctions against Russia.
The list includes three longtime acquaintances of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first deputy chief of staff of the Russian presidential administration, two officials in the self-declared governments of separatist-held territories of eastern Ukraine, a pro-Kremlin official in the Crimea area, illegally annexed by Russian in March, and a person linked to separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Three business entities were also on the sanctions list -- the joint stock concern Almaz-Antey Defense Corporation; Dobrolet, a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned airline; and the Russian National Commercial Bank.
The Russian National Commercial Bank was the first Russian bank to enter Crimea after the region's annexation earlier this year.
It's a small (pro-Russian) world after all...