Boxing champion Usyk rejects Hero of Ukraine award:
Ukrainian boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has rejected a proposal to award him with the country's highest honor, the Hero of Ukraine medal, saying he doesn't need anything from the government.
"Do not bother me and that is the best support you can give me," Usyk told journalists in Kyiv on August 1.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman had proposed to award Usyk with the Hero of Ukraine title after he unified the cruiserweight division's four titles by defeating Russia's Murat Gassiev in Moscow last month.
"The hero title? I do not need any title, as for my people, for a certain part of my country's people, I am a hero," Usyk said.
"There is no need for any additional insignia," he added. "I do not need the insignia that you are giving around to those who both deserve and don't deserve it."
Usyk, a former Olympic gold medalist, now holds the WBA, IBF, WBC, and WBO belts after just 15 professional fights, all of which he won.
Usyk, who was born in Ukraine's Crimea region, says he was forced to leave the peninsula after it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Moscow has also backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. (UNIAN and Ukrayinska Pravda)
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Wednesday, August 1, 2018. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage. Thanks for reading and take care.
Protesters In Ukraine Demand Probe Into Acid Attack Against Activist
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Dozens of protesters gathered in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on August 1, demanding a thorough investigation into a recent acid attack against a local activist.
Activists from the National Corps far-right political party, nongovernmental organizations from Kyiv, and regional lawmakers were among the protesters.
On July 31, an unidentified attacker threw acid at Kateryna Handzyuk, an adviser to the mayor of the Black Sea port city, and ran away, according to local police.
Handzyuk, who is known for her criticism of the local police, suffered severe burns on her body and is currently in a hospital in serious condition.
Yuriy Ravelev, a doctor at the Kherson regional hospital, told RFE/RL that more than 30 percent of Handzyuk's body was burned by the acid.
Regional Prosecutor-General Vitaliy Tryhubenko met with the protesters after they threw several smoke grenades at the prosecutor’s office. Tryhubenko promised a thorough investigation.
Police launched a probe into the attack, initially listing the case as hooliganism. They later changed that into "premeditated infliction of bodily harm with a goal to intimidate a person."
On August 1, Larysa Sarhan, spokeswoman of the Prosecutor-General's Office, wrote on Facebook that the case was redefined again as "attempted murder with extreme violence."