The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Lithuania's intelligence agency (VSD) director Darius Jauniskis at a press conference at the Presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Nov. 15, 2019. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
The Lithuanian intelligence agency (VSD) recorded a "historic" activity level by Belarus' KGB secret police, the VSD's head said in a comment for LRT Radio on Nov. 26.
"We are witnessing intensified activities of the Belarusian KGB, which are, in fact, reaching historic heights; they have never been so intense," Lithuania's intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis said.
The Lithuanian security services have concerns regarding the activity of some Belarusian residents, he added. The country has recognized 1,644 Belarusian citizens living in Lithuania as a threat to national security.
The Belarusian community in Lithuania has grown from 48,000 at the beginning of the year to over 60,000 in late September, migration data shows.
Many also arrived after the 2020 protests against the fraudulent presidential elections that solidified the power of dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
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Vilnius has been tightening its rules on migration from Belarus after Lukashenko assisted Russia's war against Ukraine. This sparked concerns of a negative impact on Belarusian political exiles and on Lithuania's economy.
Jauniskis also pointed out that Russian propaganda in Lithuania is gaining momentum.
The VSD's chief commented that a recent string of false bomb threats the country experienced in October was designed to cause confusion and uncertainty.
He did not explicitly link these "information operations" to a specific actor.
Tensions between Vilnius and Minsk have been mounting since 2021, when Belarus orchestrated a migrant crisis on Lithuania's border. Relations became strained again following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the arrival of Wagner mercenaries to Belarus.
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.
Maria Yeryoma
