KIEV, July 1 – Parliament has exempted imports of personal protective equipment and medicines from value-added tax while the counter-terrorism operation in Ukraine's east continues.

Respective amendments to Ukraine's Tax Code scored 261 votes from MPs.

KIEV, July 2 – Given the growth in current and potential threats to its territorial integrity, Ukraine should take a tough position on the issue of removing the possibility of the basing in the Black Sea of the Mistral helicopter carrier ships built by France for Russia, according to the director of the Defense Express information and analytical company, Serhiy Zhurets.

BAKU, July 2 – In a stinging rebuke to Russia, the 23rd annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which was held in the Azerbaijani capital, adopted a declaration calling on Moscow to reverse its annexation of Crimea.

KIEV, July 2 - The government will seek parliamentary approval on Thursday for a possible state of emergency in the energy sector which would empower it to dictate to gas companies, including private ones, to whom they should supply gas and for how much, Reuters reported.

KIEV, July 2 - The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine agreed in Berlin on Wednesday to hold three-way talks involving pro-Moscow rebels by Saturday to pave the way for a new ceasefire, despite continued fighting that Kiev says has now killed 200 of its troops, Reuters reported.

KIEV, July 2 – Hundreds of angry protesters in Mykolayiv region stormed a local police station after authorities refused to detain one of two police officers implicated in the brutal gang-rape of a young woman.

KIEV, July 2 – The Regions Party on Monday submitted a bill making it easier for Parliament to appoint and to dismiss its speaker, a sign the party is unsure whether it would dominate the legislature after October elections.

KIEV, July 2 – A court ruling on Wednesday suspended an order of President Viktor Yushchenko, effectively reinstating Vasyl Motsniy as the governor of the Kirovohrad region.

KIEV, July 2 – A standoff in Parliament seems likely on Friday after the opposition Regions Party vowed on Thursday to block an emergency session until lawmakers approve a drastic increase in social spending.

KIEV, July 2 – Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz will involve international advisers to determine the economically justifiable rate on the transit of natural gas across Ukraine, the company said.