Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Illustrative purposes: Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, stands inside a cage after he was sentenced to life in prison by a Ukrainian court for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 23, 2022 (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Four residents of occupied Ukrainian territories, who served in the Russian Armed Forces and fought against Ukraine in the eastern and southern part of the country, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced on March 29.
The four individuals were involved in Russian "meat grinder" attacks on Ukrainian positions in the Robotyne region of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the SBU.
The individuals, captured during combat, are from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as Crimea. According to the SBU, the individuals all voluntarily mobilized during the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion.
A Ukrainian court found them guilty based on evidence gathered by the SBU.
Under Ukraine's Criminal Code, two of the individuals were charged with treason under martial law, participating in a terrorist group, and involvement in unauthorized armed formations, while the other two were charged with treason and collaborative activity.
Robotyne sits by the main road toward Russian-occupied Tokmak and further to occupied Melitopol, one of the key logistic hubs for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.
Russian forces have been increasing attacks near Robotyne in recent weeks, attempting to gain further ground after the capture of Avdiivka.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Chris York
