Chris Powers

Record turnout marked the start of Hungary's parliamentary election on April 12, in a vote that could shape the country's future relationship with the European Union and Russia.

As Hungarians are heading to the polls on April 12, the prospect that the 16-year rule of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party might come to an end will have far-reaching consequences for Ukraine, Europe, and maybe the world. A lot is at stake for Ukraine in this election. Orban has blocked a €90 billion EU loan for Kyiv, and used its veto power to prevent the EU from opening accession negotiations with Ukraine — and Moldova — for almost a year. Facing down Fidesz, and mo

Editor’s Note: After publication, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Dublin intends to join the special tribunal, becoming the 18th country to signal its interest. At least 17 European countries are ready to commit to a special tribunal tasked with prosecuting the crime of aggression against Ukraine, passing a critical threshold that allows the idea to progress at a Council of Europe meeting in May. The Kyiv Independent has learned that, in

The group of MEPs, led by Lithuanian liberal Petras Austrevicius, wrote that their request was motivated by news that the Hungarian government was "deliberately sharing confidential information obtained during EU Council meetings with the Putin regime."

In a separate incident, a Russian frigate has escorted two sanctioned tankers through the English Channel, defying British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to detain vessels linked to Moscow’s shadow fleet.

Editor's note: this article was updated to include comments from the European Commission. Ukraine's parliament made scant progress on several reforms tied to funding from international partners during a highly anticipated parliamentary session on April 7–8. Ukraine has missed deadlines on a range of reforms tied to international financing over the past year. Lawmakers attempted to gain momentum during this week's plenary session, yet were only able to pass one of four new taxes required by th

“Who is silencing political voices? It's online platforms. Who is manipulating algorithms? Again, online platforms. Who is boosting the visibility of the preferred choice? Online platforms,” said Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier.

A cross-party group of members of the European Parliament called for the removal of a former Kremlin interpreter from an OSCE mission set to monitor Hungary's April 12 election, a move that has been rebuked by the President of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly.