The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gives a press conference alongside the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Estonia at the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, on Aug. 22, 2023. (Photo credit: Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has arrived in Kyiv for her fourth visit since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the German Foreign Ministry announced on Sept. 11.
Upon her arrival, the minister promised continued support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership but also insisted on further reforms, namely regarding corruption, Die Welt reported.
While noting successes in Ukraine's judiciary reforms and media legislation, Baerbock said that "there is still a way to go when it comes to implementing the anti-oligarch law and the fight against corruption."
The EU must also work to ensure that it is properly positioned to accept "new chairs at the table," she added.
"In the midst of a hail of bombs, in the face of Russia's tanks, Ukraine set out toward the European Union (membership) with confidence and determination," Baerbock said upon her arrival to Ukraine's capital.
"Ukraine is also defending our freedom with enormous courage and determination. Just as Ukraine places itself before us, it too can rely on us. On the fact that we understand the enlargement of the EU as a necessary geopolitical consequence of Russia's war."
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted candidate status in June last year.
To start the membership negotiation process, Kyiv needs to implement seven reforms outlined by the European Commission, including tackling corruption and the implementation of the anti-oligarch law.
Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister for European integration, said in a Sept. 5 interview with the Voice of America that Ukraine will be ready for European Union membership in two years.
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.
Oleg Sukhov
