The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
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.
International automobile checkpoint 'Nyzhankovychi - Malkhovychi' on the border between Ukraine and Poland in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine on Dec. 21, 2024. (Michael Sorrow/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Culture Ministry will temporarily halt issuing recommendation letters for draft-age male journalists and culture professionals for traveling abroad pending a legislative review, the ministry said on Feb. 26.
The measure, which will take effect on March 3, comes in response to cases where men used these permits to stay abroad longer than permitted.
Men aged 18-60 are not permitted to travel abroad under martial law, instituted at the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022, without special permission.
Journalists and culture workers were allowed to travel abroad temporarily for professional purposes, provided they had the necessary documentation and a letter issued by the Culture Ministry. Multiple abuses of this rule were reported throughout the full-scale war, with men staying abroad beyond the permitted period or indefinitely.
In response, the Culture Ministry submitted a draft amendment to regulate the requirements for granting permits. The suspension will be in place until the "legal settlement of this issue," the ministry said.
Manpower shortage has been described as a key challenge for the Ukrainian Armed Forces as the full-scale war with Russia entered its fourth year. Thousands of draft-age men have crossed or sought to cross the border illegally to avoid mobilization, deepening the crisis.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
