KYIV, Aug 21 - Fighting in southern Ukrainian areas just north of Crimea has stepped up in recent weeks as Ukrainian forces try to drive Russian forces out of cities they have occupied since early in the six-month-old war, The Associated Press reported.

KYIV, Aug 20 – The Office of the President is preparing a bill to simplify the procedure for the employment and dismissal of public servants, which can be introduced as an emergency one, head of the State Customs Service Maksym Nefyodov said.

PARIS, Aug. 21 - Russia’s readmission to the Group of Seven nations depends on progress in Ukraine peace talks, a French diplomatic source said, responding to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow should be allowed to rejoin the group, Reuters reported.

KYIV, Aug. 21 - Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation into whether former state officials paid Paul Manafort for political consulting work, the country's prosecutor-general says, The Associated Press reported.

KYIV, Aug. 19 - President Petro Poroshenko will hold negotiations on August 24 with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who will pay a visit to Kyiv to attend celebratory events on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day, the presidential press service reported.

KYIV, Aug 21 – Ukraine will enjoy political support from the United States with the new U.S. leadership, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies and adviser to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Horbulin has said.

MINSK, Aug. 21 - The new U.S. special envoy for efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has met with a Kremlin aide in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, RFE/RL reported Monday.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Friday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and both leaders expressed concern over a recent surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Kiev is fighting pro-Russian separatists, the White House said, according to Reuters report.

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 - Paul Manafort, the controversial campaign chairman for Donald Trump, resigned Friday after a slew of damaging accusations about his ties to Russia and a pro-Russian party in Ukraine.

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 - The FBI and U.S. Justice Department are investigating possible U.S. ties to alleged corruption involving the former president of Ukraine, including the work of firms headed by political operatives Paul Manafort and Tony Podesta, CNN reported on Friday, citing multiple U.S. law enforcement officials.