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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
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.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
Ukrainian NGO Save Ukraine returned three more children from Russian-occupied territory on Dec. 24. (Mykola Kuleba, head of Save Ukraine/Facebook)
Three Ukrainian children have been rescued from Russian-occupied territory by Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, the organization’s head, Mykola Kuleba, reported on Dec. 24.
"In this way, we have completed the 14th rescue mission, during which we saved 14 children, seven of whom are children deprived of parental care," Kuleba wrote on Facebook.
This time, the NGO rescued an eight-year-old boy, Yelysei, who lived with his grandmother in an occupied part of Kherson Oblast. When the boy’s grandmother died, "Russian occupation authorities immediately placed the child in an orphanage," Kuleba said.
Save Ukraine has helped Yelysei’s mother, who was sick at that time and lived in Odesa, get proper medical assistance and rescue her child.
"The woman had to undergo lengthy interrogations by the FSB (Russia's Federal Security Service), engage in interviews, and overcome (other) obstacles. Fortunately, she managed to retrieve her son from the orphanage," Kuleba wrote.
Along with Yelysei, Save Ukraine managed to return two 18-year-old brothers, Andrii and Mykhailo. According to Kuleba, the brothers are orphans raised in a foster family in the occupied territory.
Ukrainian NGO Save Ukraine returned three more children from Russian-occupied territory on Dec. 24. (Mykola Kuleba, head of Save Ukraine/Facebook)
"Upon reaching adulthood, the boys realized that the occupation authorities would soon conscript them to fight against their own people. In Ukraine, both were listed as missing persons," he wrote.
"Now, all three of them are safe. The children are awaiting recovery and a return to normal life."
As of late December, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who have been deported or forcibly displaced by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Less than 400 of them have been returned to Ukraine, according to the national database.
Save Ukraine says it has brought back 226 children.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin over their role in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics, specializing in translation from English and German languages. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher.
Daria Shulzhenko
