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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) embraces Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko (L) during the SCTO Summit, in Minsk, Belarus on Nov. 23, 2023. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko asked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 6 to deploy Oreshnik missile systems in Belarus, a weapon Russia recently used to strike Ukraine, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Lukashenko made the request during the signing ceremony of new agreements between Russia and Belarus, including a treaty on security guarantees under the so-called "Union State" and a deal to establish a unified electricity market.
Putin called the security guarantees treaty "fundamental" and said it would involve "all available forces and means."
In his remarks, Lukashenko referenced the Nov. 21 launch of the Oreshnik, Russia's new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
“This had a certain impact on our former partners and now rivals,” Lukashenko said. “Do not take this as some kind of audacity, but I want to publicly ask you to deploy new weapons systems, especially the Oreshnik, on Belarusian territory.”
Lukashenko added that Belarus's military and political leadership would decide the targets for these weapons and claimed to have already identified locations for the missile systems.
Putin responded that such a deployment was "possible" and said the missiles could be supplied to Belarus by the second half of 2025.
While Putin has claimed Russia has begun mass production of the Oreshnik, a U.S. official told The Kyiv Independent that Moscow likely possesses "only a handful" of these experimental missiles.
The Oreshnik strike against Ukraine followed Kyiv's first successful use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles on a military target in Russia. Moscow later acknowledged additional ATACMS strikes on targets in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Chris York
