KYIV, July 15 – Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has quelled Western fears that Ukraine could become a source of arms smuggling, but acknowledged the need to expand weapons tracking systems, the Financial Times publication said.

VINNYTSIA, July 17 - President Volodymyr Zelensky fired state security service chief and prosecutor general on Sunday, citing hundreds of criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people within their departments and other law enforcement agencies.

KYIV, July 16 – Economic losses from the temporary occupation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation amounted to $135 billion, according to a study by the Center for Economic Strategy, commissioned by the representative office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC).

KYIV, July 16 - Ukrainian lawmakers have approved Denys Monastyrskiy as the country's new interior minister, replacing Arsen Avakov, who resigned this week, RFE/RL reported Friday.

KYIV, July 18 - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered an overhaul of the process for granting Ukrainian citizenship, in response to a Russian decree expanding the number of Ukrainians who can apply for fast-track Russian passports, Reuters reported.

KYIV, July 18 - The party of Ukraine's new president looks set to win Sunday's snap parliamentary election, repeating Volodymyr Zelenskiy's shock victory in the April presidential race that has upended politics in the war-scarred nation, Reuters reported.

BERLIN, July 17 - Gas transit via Ukraine is not under threat, German Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Peter Altmeier told a press conference in Berlin.

BERLIN/KYIV, July 17 – A group of high-level experts will meet in the middle of September 2018 to discuss gas transit shipments via Ukraine after 2019, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic has said.

BERLIN, July 17 - The new contract for gas transit to Europe via Ukraine after 2019 must adhere to European law, Vice President of the European Commission for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic said.

KYIV, July 17 - The number of Ukrainian citizens residing in regional centers and major cities that support Ukraine's accession to NATO, and who are against this entry, are approximately the same.