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.
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.
Cars and people with bicycles wait at the Sumskas border crossing point between Lithuania and Belarus on Aug. 12, 2023. (Photo: Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images)
Lithuania will close two out of six border crossings with neighboring Belarus on Aug. 18, Deputy Transport Minister Agne Vaiciukeviciute announced, the Associated Press reported.
Vaiciukeviciute cited the presence of the Kremlin-linked private mercenary Wagner Group in Belarus as one of the major reasons for the closures.
Following the end of the brief but disruptive Wagner Group rebellion in Russia in June, thousands of their fighters relocated to Belarus. They have since engaged in military exercises that can be heard from across the Polish border.
The announced closure of the two Lithuanian border crossings was shortly followed by another statement from Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite about the planned total shutting of the border between the Baltic states, Poland, and Belarus, Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) reported.
There is a “need to reduce threats," Bilotaite stated, adding that the full closures would be discussed collaboratively between Belarus’s neighbors at upcoming talks in Warsaw.
Despite the tension between Lithuania and Belarus, a considerable amount of Lithuanian citizens continue to use Minsk’s visa-free regime to travel to Belarus, often to take advantage of the lower cost of goods at duty free shops by the border, according to LRT.
According to statistics from Belarus, at least 170,000 Lithuanian citizens have entered the country so far in 2023, LRT reported. The Lithuanian government has discouraged its citizens from visiting, placing signs by the border that state, “Do not travel to Belarus. You may fail to come back.”
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.
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