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.
A sign points to the border between Poland and Belarus; in the background is a vehicle belonging to the Polish border guards. (Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Two journalists of the Rayon.ua.in news outlet were detained in Poland and deported while reporting on a trade on the Russian-Polish border, the news outlet said on March 13.
According to the statement, editor Yurii Konkevych and cameraman Oleksandr Piliuk were detained by the Polish police at the border with Russia's Kaliningrad enclave on March 7 and were brought to the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing with Ukraine two days later.
This is the second such case reported in Poland in recent weeks. Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach said that he and his cameraman were detained by the Polish police in February while reporting on the shipments of Russian goods to Poland via Belarus.
Rayon.ua.in said that their journalists were investigating the scale of trade on the Russian-Polish border and whether Russian or Polish transport vehicles are used for crossing.
"The Polish police detained us and confiscated our property, did not notify the consul, did not give us the opportunity to call Ukraine, and the (Polish) Internal Security Agency called us persons who threaten the national security of Poland and expelled us," Konkevych said.
Polish law enforcement officers told the journalists that they spent too much time photographing critical infrastructure, namely Russian liquified gas wagons. The officers subsequently searched the journalists' car and seized their laptop, microphones, phones, and other equipment and personal items.
Only personal items were returned, while Polish authorities kept work-related equipment, Konkevych told Detektor.Media.
Other recorded materials – including photos and videos – were deleted by Polish officers later during the detention, the journalists said.
Detektor.Media published a supposed scan of the Polish security agency's document, which called the journalists a "threat to state security and the interests of the Republic of Poland."
The outlet's editorial staff challenged the legality of the deportation, which bans them from entering the Schengen area for five years, and appealed to international journalistic organizations for support.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
