Tymoshenko Calls Party Office Bombing 'Terrorist Attack'
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says an explosion at her party's offices in the city of Sumy was politically motivated.
Tymoshenko, head of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, said in Kyiv that there were "political reasons" behind the "terrorist attack" early on July 4.
The explosion on the ground floor of the building did serious damage to the party's offices but did not cause any injuries.
Tymoshenko said if an impartial investigation is not carried out promptly then Batkivshchyna party members in Sumy will "publicly name those who threatened them."
She said the party officials had received telephone threats after having uncovered a "corruption agenda under the housing and utilities tariffs."
Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
Putin: U.S.-Russia Relations Key To Global Stability
Russian President Vladimir Putin says relations between Moscow and Washington are instrumental to ensuring international stability.
Putin said in a congratulatory message to U.S. President Barack Obama on July 4 -- American independence day -- that U.S.-Russian relations were "the key factor in ensuring stability and security in the world, despite the differences" between the two countries.
But he added that the two countries must have a dialogue based on "equality and respect" of each country's interests."
Russia has used increasingly tough rhetoric against Washington since the Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the start of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2014 that has led to Western sanctions against Moscow.
Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Putin's security council, said last month that the United States was out to destroy Russia.
Based on reporting by AFP and TASS
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
