Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
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.
George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed their countries' relationship on May 8, vowing to increase cooperation in all areas, including military ties.
"There is Turkey, which maintains channels of communication. And then, above all, there is the People's Republic of China, which, more than anyone else, has the means to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin come to the negotiating table and soften his demands," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on May 8.
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendant's cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest in Moscow, Russia, on April 18, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia's foreign minister claimed on July 17 that there is "irrefutable evidence" that imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is guilty of espionage, one day before the journalist is scheduled to appear in court.
Sergey Lavrov accused American journalists of delaying U.S.-Russia talks on a potential prisoner exchange by publicizing confidential negotiations, which he noted are still "ongoing."
At a U.N. news conference, Lavrov said that Gershkovich’s case is unrelated to any "attacks on journalism," according to the Associated Press. "I would like to assure you that, just as much as you do, we are in favor of journalism and freedom of speech," Lavrov said.
Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 while working on a story about the Wagner mercenary group's recruiting methods, as well as Russian citizens' views on the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The journalist has been in pre-trial detention in Russia for more than a year on espionage charges. His trial began in Yekaterinburg on June 26.
The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have denied all the charges against Gershkovich, and have called them politically motivated.
If convicted, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison, a likely outcome given that Russian courts have a conviction rate of over 99%.
in June, the Russian Prosecutor General’s office accused Gershkovich of "gathering secret information" on orders from the CIA regarding a military equipment plant located 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. deny that he was a spy.
Lavrov claimed that the U.S. and U.K. have a long history of recruiting journalists as spies, citing a recent Telegram post by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova about the memoirs of a British journalist who spied on revolutionary Russia in 1917.
"The use of journalists for intelligence gathering purposes, at least in the Anglo-Saxon world, is a tradition," Lavrov said.
Gershkovich is scheduled to appear in court on July 18 for the second hearing in his trial.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Nate Ostiller
