Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. Vadym Prystaiko attemds a briefing in Kyiv, on Jan. 10, 2020. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., said on Feb. 13 that Ukraine might contemplate the possibility of not joining NATO if this averts a further Russian invasion. The statement triggered a controversy in Ukraine.
The statement comes amid the U.S. warnings that Russia might attack Ukraine at any moment. Ukraine's commitment to not join NATO was one of the key security demands that Russia sent to the West, as it massed more than 140,000 troops near Ukraine and inside the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.
When asked by BBC if Ukraine will contemplate not joining NATO, Prystaiko said: “We might, especially being threatened like that, blackmailed by that, and pushed to it.”
He mentioned, however, that Ukraine’s commitment to join NATO is stipulated by its Constitution.
“This is what is written in our Constitution, and by saying ‘might’ I go against the major document we have,” Prystaiko said. “What I’m saying here is that we are flexible and trying to find the best way out. If we have to go through some serious concessions, that’s something we might do, that’s for sure. I don’t believe we will do this, you were asking whether we contemplate the possibility.”
Oleg Nykolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said Prystaiko’s words had been taken out of context by the media.
He said that Ukraine’s Constitution stipulates joining NATO, and no decisions can contradict the Constitution.
“The best guarantee would be Ukraine’s immediate accession to the alliance,” Nykolenko said. “But Ukraine faces threats here and now, and that’s why the search for guarantees is becoming the fundamental task.”
Following media reports about the comments, the Ukrainian Embassy to the U.K. published a statement to clarify there is no change in Ukraine's plans for NATO membership.
"People in Ukraine want to live their lives in peace and quiet, feeling safe in their country. NATO is the only way to have it in our part of the globe," Prystaiko said on Twitter.
Oleg Sukhov is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is a former editor and reporter at the Moscow Times. He has a master's degree in history from the Moscow State University. He moved to Ukraine in 2014 due to the crackdown on independent media in Russia and covered war, corruption, reforms and law enforcement for the Kyiv Post.
