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.
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.
Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023 (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky and other world leaders have condemned Hamas' assault on Israel on Oct. 7 and expressed solidarity with Israel.
The Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an attack of unprecedented scale on Israel on Oct. 7, using missiles and soldiers who infiltrated into Israeli territory. At the time of this publication, fighting in Israel, as well as in Gaza, was still underway.
Over 100 Israeli civilians have been reportedly killed thus far and 740 wounded, and the number is reportedly expected to rise. An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians were being held hostage as well. Palestinian authorities in Gaza said that 198 were dead amid the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his first public statement after the attack, saying, "Citizens of Israel, we are at war. And we will win."
Zelensky denounced Hamas' offensive, writing on Telegram, "Whoever uses terror is a criminal against the whole world. Whoever sponsors terrorism is a criminal against the whole world."
Other world leaders swiftly responded to the attack.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen characterized it as "terrorism in its most despicable form."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry described the attack as an act of terrorism and expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU.
Following Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas won local parliamentary elections and quickly consolidated power by defeating their political competitors at the ballot and in armed combat on the street. Hamas has effectively controlled Gaza since 2007 and has fought numerous times with Israel, most recently in 2022. The escalation on Oct. 7 is likely the most significant outbreak of fighting since a seven-week war in 2014.
The Foreign Ministry announced it is opening an operational headquarters to help Ukrainians currently in Israel after the attack by Hamas, spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
He said that no Ukrainians are among the victims of the violence. However, he urged those in the country to "remain vigilant and closely follow the messages of Israeli local authorities."
There is a large Ukrainian community in Israel, estimated by the Foreign Ministry as being around 500,000, most of whom left Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of them are Jews from Ukraine, but there are also tens of thousands of ethnic Ukrainians.
In addition, some 15,000-40,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Israel since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. It is unclear what their status is, or how many have stayed in the country.
Politically, Israel has largely refrained from explicitly backing a side in Russia's war on Ukraine, and has thus far not provided any significant military aid to Ukraine. Israel has complex relations with Russia, but has also long been enemies with Iran, a shared adversary of Ukraine.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Elsa Court
