RFE/RL takes a look at some of the groups supplying equipment, weapons, and volunteer fighters to both sides of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Read: Supplying The Front Lines In Eastern Ukraine
Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine from the National Security and Defense Council:
From our news desk:
A member of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament was killed when he was struck by a boat while swimming in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.
Federation Council member Vladimir Kulakov, who represented Magadan Oblast, was killed on August 1 while vacationing near Alushta.
The pilot of the boat has been detained and an Interior Ministry official said the incident was caused by "carelessness." A criminal case has been opened.
Kulakov was appointed to the Federation Council in 2000. Before that, he was a first deputy to the Russian government's representative in Chechnya.
He was awarded numerous state honors for state and military service. (RIA Novosti and "Nezavisimaya gazeta")
Talk about keeping your options open...
RFE/RL's Tom Balmforth asked residents of Moscow if they were concerned about the new round of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine. Most of the respondents said they thought the sanctions would have little effect on the Russian economy. They also expressed regret at the deterioration of relations between Russia and the West.
From our newsroom:
A top official in the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine has reportedly been killed in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region.
According to a Facebook post by Russian Eurasianist ideologue Aleksandr Dugin on August 1, 32-year-old Aleksandr Proselkov was killed by gunfire the previous day as he "accompanied a convoy of humanitarian aid" to Donetsk.
Proselkov was the de facto deputy foreign minister of the breakaway Ukrainian region and an aide to its self-proclaimed leader, Pavel Gubarev.
Ukrainian military officials said Proselkov was killed by "friendly fire" from militants and mercenaries from the breakaway "Luhansk People's Republic."
Dugin speculated Proselkov may have been killed by supporters of rival Russian nationalist political adviser Sergei Kurginyan because of his support for the breakaway regions' military commander, Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov). ("The Kyiv Post" and lenta.ru)