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.
Rinat Akhmetov, a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch, waits for the arrival of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier before their meeting on June 24, 2014 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)
In a public statement, oligarch Rinat Akhmetov said that his System Capital Management (SCM) group is set to transfer the licenses of the television channels owned by its Media Group Ukraine to the Ukrainian government. The media holding includes Ukraina and Ukraina 24 TV channels, which before the full-scale war were among the most-watched channels in the country.
By doing so, Akhmetov seeks to escape being officially classified as an oligarch in Ukraine.
"As the largest private investor in Ukraine, I have repeatedly said that I was not, am not, and will not be an oligarch," Akhmetov said.
On June 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree introducing a register of oligarchs. Akhmetov has been the richest person in Ukraine for over a decade, having influence over a number of pro-Russian parties in the past.
The decree aims to implement the anti-oligarch law signed by Zelensky in 2021. The law introduces the legal definition of an oligarch and requires officials to declare contacts with oligarchs. It also bans oligarchs from financing political parties, political ads, or demonstrations and excludes them from the privatization of state assets.
To be recognized as an oligarch, a person must meet at least three out of four criteria: direct involvement in political activities, considerable influence over media, be a beneficiary of monopolies recognized by antitrust authorities, and ownership of assets exceeding Hr 2.2 billion ($81 million), excluding media assets.
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