The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
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.
Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, in Prague on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will likely return to his duties shortly, Slovak media outlet Aktuality reported on June 30, citing Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinak.
Fico, 59, was shot in an assassination attempt as he walked out of a government meeting in the town of Handlova on May 15. The attack left the prime minister in serious condition, and he has since undergone two surgeries.
Fico last addressed the public in early June via a video posted on his Facebook. The Slovak prime minister thanked doctors for their care and said he could return to work "in late June or early July."
"I cannot say that everything is going according to plan," Kalinaksaid, adding that Fico's injuries affected the functioning of his musculoskeletal system.
Kalinak said Fico is "gradually getting closer" to being able to perform the job of prime minister, fully.
The Slovak prime minister is expected to address the public "in the next few days," according to Kalinak. The Slovak Defense Minister did not specify whether Fico would do it in person or via social media, as he did in June.
Fico was shot by Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old writer and political activist.
According to court documents cited by the Slovak news outlet Pravda, Cintula said he had no intention of murdering Fico but instead wanted to "harm his health."
Cintula reportedly told authorities that he did so because he disagreed with "certain policies" of the current government.
Fico called Cintula "an activist of the Slovak opposition" in his June 5 address. The prime minister added he felt no hatred towards the shooter and would not seek compensation or take legal action.
Carl Bildt
