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.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
In January, Ryanair canceled around a third of its flights globally, slashing seat availability from 10 to 6-7 million. (ryanair.com)
Following a global trend of dwindling demand, and severe staff shortages caused by the Covid-19 Omicron variant, fewer planes are now entering Ukrainian skies as Irish low-cost airline Ryanair cancels flights across Europe.
In September, Ryanair stated that it planned to “expand aggressively” in Ukraine following the country's accession to the “Open Skies” agreement, which allows foreign airlines greater access to the Ukrainian market.
This expansion, however, did not materialize. Instead, Ukraine has been hit hard by flight cancellations by major European airlines, including Ryanair.
According to data from the Ukrainian travel website Lowcostavia, Ryanair canceled 17 Ukrainian routes in January, with seven more routes scheduled to be canceled in February. These cancellations mostly affect flights from Lviv, Kharkiv, and Odesa, as well as flights to smaller Ukrainian cities.
The cancelation leaves some cities without any Ryanair flights. One of them is Kharkiv in Ukraine’s east, the country's second-biggest city with a population of 1.4 million people. These reductions are scheduled to last at least until the end of February.
Ryanair did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Similarly, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has suspended flights to 20 destinations from Ukraine. The airline no longer operates any flights from Zaporizhzhia and Odesa, until March at the earliest.
Ukraine International Airlines has also suspended flights from Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv to Tbilisi and Athens until March.
According to a press release published by Ryanair, the low-cost airline cut 33% of all its flights in January, which represents a reduction of around 3-4 million seats. The airline blamed a spike in infections by the Covid-19 Omicron variant and the reintroduction of travel restrictions to most of Europe in January.
Across Europe, travel restrictions, as well as a surge in Covid-19 infections, have crippled European air traffic.
Pandemic restrictions and high infections have also sharply hit demand. In January, CNBC reported that airlines had been flying empty aircraft across Europe to secure landing spots. Now, airlines are canceling flights en masse.
Lufthansa Group has canceled a staggering 33,000 flights from January to February, according to the travel website Afar. That represents around 10% of all its winter flights.
While European carriers slash flights, Ukrainian carriers have begun to tentatively expand abroad.
The Ukrainian airline Azur Air, owned by Russian travel agency Anex Tour, recently received permits from the State Aviation Service of Ukraine to fly nine new routes to Spain and Greece.
Ukrainian low-cost regional airline Air Ocean also started its first regular service between Ukraine’s western city of Lviv and Kharkiv in December, although these flights were later suspended due to problems with the airline’s aircraft.
Dylan Carter is a staff writer at the Kyiv Independent. He studied modern languages at the University College of London and Paris Sorbonne IV. He worked as an assistant lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics and at Ukrinform before joining the Kyiv Post in June 2021.
