Martin Fornusek is a reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in international and regional politics, history, and disinformation. Based in Lviv, Martin often reports on international politics, with a focus on analyzing developments related to Ukraine and Russia. His career in journalism began in 2021 after graduating from Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, earning a Master's degree in Conflict and Democracy Studies. Martin has been invited to speak on Times Radio, France 24, Czech Television, and Radio Free Europe. He speaks English, Czech, and Ukrainian.
Hungary again began blocking Ukraine's EU accession clusters, asking Kyiv to first implement earlier agreements addressing the rights of Ukraine's Hungarian minority.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 18 welcomed European leaders to the Carpathian 8 Summit, the inaugural event for a forum of eight countries across the Carpathian region.
Russia on Sept. 18 began its three-day elections for the 450-member State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's legislature, for the first time since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Speaking before his visit to Ukraine, the Slovak leader said that the Russia-Ukraine war is "out of control," and that the risk of a Europe-wide conflict has never been as serious as it is now.
"This is not an act of hostility towards Ukraine. We can continue to train their soldiers, their armies; we can continue to provide them with equipment so they can defend themselves," the co-leader of the French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Marine Le Pen, said on Sept. 16.
"The Black Sea blockade is part of his plan," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, as Russian strikes against ports and vessels in Ukrainian waters are choking off Ukraine's agricultural exports.
The legislation passed with overwhelming support in the Senate in August but is expected to face stronger opposition in the House, with some House Democrats fearing it would grant U.S. President Donald Trump too much authority over tariffs.
The Russian Central Bank's board of directors on Sept. 11 decided to keep the key rate at 14%, the first time the regulator has opted not to cut it since mid-June 2025.
Oleksandr Yurchenko, then a member of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People parliamentary group, was charged in 2020 for soliciting bribes in exchange for legislative amendments.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he would resign from office on Sept. 25 or 26 before focusing on his campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Polish far-right politician Grzegorz Braun published a video of himself damaging a memorial in eastern Poland, which commemorates UPA fighters killed while fighting the Soviet secret police.
The comments come as a rejection of the latest U.S.-Ukraine proposal for an aerial truce, which was put forward during the visit of U.S. peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv.
As the Russian legislative elections near, the Moscow propaganda is accusing the West of plotting to disrupt the vote — the same charge Western governments have repeatedly leveled against the Kremlin.
Russia's upcoming elections for the State Duma, the lower house of the parliament, between Sept. 18 and 20 are seen by democracy watchdogs as little more than a rubber stamp for the regime's grip on power.
Yet in recent months, Russian officials and media have stepped up claims that Europe plans