Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Ukraine, Creditors Say Debt Talks Moving Forward
Ukraine and its creditors say talks on the country’s debt restructuring have made progress on a "number of substantive issues."
The Ukrainian Finance Ministry and creditors said on July 16 that more meetings between the two sides had been scheduled next week, "with the common aim of finalizing the terms of Ukraine's debt operation as soon as possible."
The statement was issued a day after Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko held talks with creditors in Washington.
Creditors represented by the Ad Hoc Committee of Ukraine's Bondholders -- mainly four U.S. investment and hedge funds -- are under pressure to write off a significant amount of the country's debt.
The International Monetary Fund conditioned its $17.5 billion bailout program for Ukraine in March on the country also receiving $15.3 billion in debt relief over four years from bond restructuring.
But bondholders want Ukraine to lengthen the debt repayment period rather than write it off.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
MH17 Lawsuit Filed In U.S. Court Against Ex-Separatist Leader Girkin
Igor Girkin, the former commander of pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, has been formally accused in a U.S. lawsuit of orchestrating the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
The lawsuit filed in Chicago also alleges that Girkin acted with the blessing of the Kremlin when his forces fired at the Boeing 777 that was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people aboard.
The lawsuit seeks $900 million for families of 18 passengers who were among the dead.
Lawyer Floyd Wisner is using the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act, which can be used against foreign nationals, to bring the case against Girkin in a U.S. court.
Wisner said the lawsuit “is not about money. It is about getting answers from Girkin and putting pressure on Russia to cooperate” with an international tribunal to bring criminal charges against those responsible.