The European Union on May 30 finally agreed on a partial embargo on Russian oil after months of delays and disagreements. However, the move was criticized by some Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine as "too little and too late." "If you ask me, I would say far too slow, far
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed the application on May 17, following its approval by the country’s parliament earlier on the same day, Finnish media outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported.
The General Staff said that Russia had also lost 1,220 tanks, 2,958 armored fighting vehicles, 555 artillery pieces, 195 multiple launch rocket systems, 89 surface-to-air missiles, 164 helicopters, 200 airplanes, 416 drones, and 13 boats.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference. The Finnish parliament is expected to consider the decision in the coming days. Finland and Sweden have been considering joining NATO to boost their defense since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Ukrainska Pravda, an online newspaper, has identified a Russian soldier who told his wife he shot civilians in the head even when they begged for mercy. The newspaper cited its sources at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and said that he is 27-year-old Dmitry Gennadyevich Ivanov from the village of Kupsola in the Russian republic of Mari El. He is currently serving in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast.
Up to 170,000 people currently remain in Mariupol, the city council said. The Russian occupiers have turned the city into a “medieval ghetto”, and the number of casualties is expected to be high there, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said. “Our people are under lethal threat," he said. "Therefore, a full evacuation of the city is needed.” The highly-fortified Azovstal steel plant, the only remaining pocket of resistance in Mariupol, is being stormed by Russian troops.
Metropolitan Onufry, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Ukrainian branch, called on the Russian dictator to release them under the "extraction" procedure - a military term for relocating personnel out of a hostile environment. He urged Putin to show humanism to commemorate Easter and Victory Day and suggested that a third country act as a neutral intermediary. The highly fortified Azovstal steel plant, the only pocket of resistance in Mariupol, is being stormed by Russian troops.
Moldova’s Russian-occupied Transnistria region is becoming a new focal point in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Tensions have been rising over the fate of the breakaway republic after several explosions have been reported in Transnistria, which local Russian-led authorities claimed were attacks by Ukraine. One theory is that Russia
These include Oleksandrivka, Fedorivka, Ukrainka, Shestakovo, and Peremoha, Ukraine's General Staff said. Russia continues to replenish its troops in northeastern Ukraine, it added.
Russia’s air force has proven insufficiently effective when it comes to crushing Ukrainian resistance. Despite heavily outnumbering Ukraine’s air force, Russia has failed to achieve total air supremacy, with the skies over Ukraine still being contested. And yet there is one aspect in which Russia’s air force,
On April 12, the Security Service of Ukraine captured the country’s most high-profile pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who had fled from house arrest in February after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested exchanging Medvedchuk for Ukrainians held in Russian captivity. Commenting on Zelensky's offer,
Ukraine's Azov regiment said on April 11 that Russia had used a poisonous substance against Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, a besieged port on the Sea of Azov. Azov leader Andriy Biletsky said that three people have clear signs of chemical poisoning. He added that there are no "disastrous consequences" for
Ukrainian intelligence has claimed that a coup is being prepared against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Although such intelligence claims may be dubious, analysts can assess the possibility of a coup d’etat by taking into account the economic and political situation in Russia. Some of them argue that a coup
Ukraine is seeking security guarantees that are stronger than NATO's Article 5, David Arakhamia, the leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky's faction in the parliament and head of the Ukrainian delegation during the ongoing peace negotiations with Russia, said on March 29. Arakhamia was speaking following a round of peace talks
Ukrainian activists are currently blocking trucks from crossing the border from Poland to Belarus. The activists demanded that the European Union stop its trade with Russia. "Every product and every euro that feeds the Russian economy kills Ukrainians," they said on a Facebook page devoted to the protest. One of
Days after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered to put his country's nuclear deterrent forces on alert, effectively threatening the world with a nuclear war. With the ongoing military invasion proving to be extremely costly for Russia, the key question now is whether Putin is
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing economic crisis caused by Western sanctions have already transformed Russia. The country's economy is expected to shrink by 20% in the second quarter and by around 3.5% for the full year following intensified sanctions, JPMorgan said on Feb. 28. However, analysts
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s bellicose speech on Feb. 21 was full of false narratives and half-truths that he used to justify his aggression against Ukraine. The speech was ostensibly his rationale for his recognition of the Kremlin’s proxies in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied areas in the Donbas as independent
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s current saber-rattling over Ukraine has its roots both in his worldview and his regime’s authoritarian evolution. First, Putin is obsessed with the megalomaniac idea of having a grand historic mission, including the resurrection of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union and projecting its
More information has been published about the two Ukrainian soldiers killed by Russian proxies in the Donbas on Feb. 19. Denys Kononenko, a 34-year old driver at a motorized infantry company, is from the town of Tulchyn in Vinnytsia Oblast, the Tulchyn city council said on Feb. 19. He was
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
According to experts, the resignation will allow tainted members of the High Council of Justice to evade responsibility for wrongdoings.
As Russia continues to escalate its aggression against Ukraine, military experts disagree on the possible scenarios of a further Russian invasion if it does happen. Russia has amassed around 135,000 troops around Ukraine and in its occupied areas in recent weeks and stepped up its aggressive rhetoric. The Kremlin
A selection panel on Feb. 3 failed to nominate a chief anti-corruption prosecutor for the third time. The panel that chooses the anti-corruption prosecutor consists of four international experts and six members delegated by parliament. Three of the pro-government members failed to attend a panel meeting on Feb. 3, and
U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to nominate Bridget Brink as the ambassador to Ukraine, Bloomberg and CNN reported on Jan. 31, citing their sources. The Department of State has not yet confirmed the reports. Brink currently heads the U.S. embassy in Bratislava. She has been appointed to
The U.S. has not caved in to Russia’s demands to halt potential NATO expansion eastward, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news briefing on Jan. 26. “We will uphold the principle of NATO’s open-door policy,” he said. NATO followed suit, saying that it
The treason case against ex-President Petro Poroshenko has polarized Ukrainian society. Some see it as the realization of the public demand for justice and for holding politicians accountable. President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected in 2019 due to a backlash to the alleged corruption and abuses committed under Poroshenko. But Zelensky’
Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov was arrested on Jan. 22, days after publishing exposes on allies of President Sadyr Zhaparov. He is facing drug charges, which he says are falsified. The move is an alarming development for Kyrgyzstan, which has fared well in terms of free speech until recently, compared
A selection panel on Jan. 21 effectively launched Ukraine’s long-awaited judicial reform process, starting a contest for jobs at the High Qualification Commission, a judicial governing body. The panel was created in September, but its work has been delayed due to obstruction by Ukraine’s judiciary and uncertainty over
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has asked the State Department to authorize the departure of all non-essential staff and their families, CNN reported on Jan. 22, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. The move comes amid an escalation of Russia’s aggressive rhetoric against Ukraine. The Kremlin is
The Russian parliament will consider a motion to recognize two Kremlin proxy groups in the Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine’s Donbas as independent states. The move comes amid an escalation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The Kremlin is stepping up its bellicose rhetoric and amassing troops around Ukraine’s
The High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s highest governing body, accepted the resignation of two of the council’s most controversial members on Jan. 20. The resignation of Oleksiy Malovatsky, acting head of the council, and Pavlo Grechkivsky will take effect on Jan. 26. They face numerous accusations of
