"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova speaks during a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The European Commission warned Slovakia that it would take immediate legal action if the country adopted a controversial law labeling NGOs that receive funding from abroad as "foreign-supported organizations," Reuters reported on July 24.
The amendment passed by the Slovak parliament in the first reading in April would apply to all non-governmental organizations that receive more than 5,000 euros ($5,400) a year in foreign funding.
The Slovak opposition and the Council of Europe have expressed concern about this legislation.
"If you follow the Hungarian example on the NGOs law, we will launch an infringement procedure (for violation of EU law) immediately because already we have the decision of the court on the table," European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said after her visit to Bratislava.
Jourova referred to a similar law on foreign-funded NGOs implemented by Budapest in 2017. The law was repealed in 2021 after the European Court of Justice declared it illegal.
In a statement after the EU's annual rule of law report, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he had considered the report's recommendations and that the relevant ministries would lead dialogue with the European Commission.
The Slovak head of government alleged that the criticism actually stems from disagreements on foreign policy, where the commission is seeking "obedience."
Elected in September 2023 on a populist, Ukraine-skeptic platform, Fico halted arms supplies from Slovakia's military stocks and has repeatedly criticized both defense assistance for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
The Slovak and Hungarian legislation has been compared to a foreign agents law recently adopted in Georgia, which prompted mass protests in the country and led to a deterioration in Tbilisi's relations with the EU and the U.S.
Georgia's law is largely seen as based on Russian legislation used to crack down on domestic opposition.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Peter Leonard
