Government of Ukraine

Ukraine's parliament voted on Aug. 31 for constitutional changes to give separatist-minded eastern regions a special status - but divisions in the pro-Western camp and violent street protests suggested the changes would face a rougher ride to become law.

Ukraine said on Aug. 27 it had reached a crucial debt restructuring deal that will see lenders accept a 20-percent write-down and keep global markets open to the cash-strapped ex-Soviet state.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Monday accused Russia of this week sending three military convoys to eastern Ukraine.

"Just this week three big convoys crossed our border toward Lugansk, Donetsk and Debaltseve," he said during a military parade in Kiev organized to mark the 24th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.

An exiled former top ally of ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych on August 3 launched a shadowy committee to "save" the war-torn country, pledging to bring down the current pro-Western government.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has suggested his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could go as far as he is allowed to, if he embarks on an offensive into Europe, including the Black Sea countries.

President Petro Poroshenko called it a ?moral duty? July 17 to punish the ?murderers? who killed 298 people by downing Flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine one year ago.

Ukraine lost eight soldiers July 15 in a dramatic spike in fighting with pro-Russian gunmen that further imperilled a truce Washington's top European envoy is desperately trying to salvage in Kiev.

A dismissed Ukrainian official has accused former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of defending the interests of a Turkish firm, Do?an News Agency reported.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko have agreed to resume flights between the capitals of their respective countries, media outlets report.

The development comes as President Plevneliev is on a visit to Kiev Tuesday and Wednesday, the first trip of a Bulgarian head of state to Ukraine in the past 12 years.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin discussed the possibility of launching a ferry on the Danube connecting the two countries.

At their meeting on Monday, Mitov and Klimkin also discussed plans for the repair of the road between Odessa and Reni, TASS news agency reports.