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.
Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
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.
UK Defense Ministry: Russia likely to strike at Ukraine over holidays to undermine people's morale
According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, though Russia has sustained a general pattern of conducting an intensive wave of long-range strikes across Ukraine every 7-10 days, it is likely to break this pattern over the winter holidays.
In its daily update posted on Dec. 31, the ministry said there is a “realistic possibility" that Russia will strike again in the coming days "to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian population over the new year holiday period.”
Russia has been targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure with repeated attacks for nearly two months. Since Oct. 10, Moscow has launched eight large-scale missile strikes across Ukraine, as well as multiple drone attacks. The strikes killed dozens of civilians and inflicted severe damage on the energy system, causing power, water, and heating cut-offs.
In its latest mass strike on Dec. 29, Russia launched 69 missiles at targets across Ukraine, according to Chief Commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Air defense downed 54 of them.
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