From AP says a group of leading Democratic senators are pressing for harsher measures against Russia and for blacklisting the "Donetsk People's Republic":
In a letter to Obama, Sens. Bob Menendez, Dianne Feinstein and Carl Levin say Russia's defense, energy and finance sectors should be targeted for sanctions. They say Russian must halt weapons, equipment and training to separatists in eastern Ukraine. The senators also ask Obama to consider designating the "Donetsk (dah-NETSK') People's Republic" a foreign terrorist organization.
Menendez chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Feinstein the Intelligence Committee and Levin the Armed Services Committee.
In a fresh Facebook post, Pro-Kyiv military blogger expresses frustration with the European Union, saying the bloc is "for the umpteenth time to postpone the introduction of new sanctions against Russia." He also decries the French delivery of any Mistral warship to Russia.
A commander is quoted by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service as saying Ukrainian forces have taken control of Popasna, in the Luhansk region.
A Gallup Poll this month asked Russians to rate their country in several areas. The results from the question "Do you have confidence in the following or not?" were record-level confidence in the Russian military (78 percent) and national government (64 percent). Our own Li Luo mapped out the trends since 2006. CLICK FOR FULL VIEW WITH INTERACTIVITY.
"The Interpreter" features some of the recent statements and writings of its managing editor, James Miller, on the topic of Putin's alleged culpability surrounding the downed airliner.
Wow. Not subtle, this "Come back alive!" video saluting Ukrainian troops.
We're concluding our live blogging for Tuesday, July 22 and handing over Ukraine coverage to our newsroom, so watch HERE for all the news regarding the State Department's plan to release intelligence on the MH17 downing and other topics related to Ukraine and RFE/RL's entire broadcast region.