The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Turkish officials told Bloomberg that while they don't expect Trump to visit Istanbul, they are not ruling it out, and preparations for any scenario are underway.
Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023 in connection with the activities of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which was co-founded by Golos's legal predecessor, the Golos association.
Ukraine's underground storage facilities are currently using 19.4% of their capacity. Almost 32%, or 2.79 bcm, less gas is available in the storages than in the previous year, according to the estimates.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during his annual news conference in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 21, 2023. (Akos Stiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The EU is weighing the "nuclear option" of revoking Hungary's voting rights if it again vetoes a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package for Ukraine at an upcoming European Council summit next week, Politico reported on Jan. 26, citing unnamed diplomats and officials.
The European Parliament supported a resolution earlier in January to suspend Hungary's voting rights due to the country's "erosion of the rule of law" and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building. The EU's criticism of Hungary increased after it previously blocked the $54 billion Ukraine aid package in December 2023.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is considered close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said he would fight against any attempts to restrict Hungary's EU rights. Bratislava's opposition could prevent a unanimous decision on the move.
Hungary has so far been able to exercise its obstructionist tactics on Ukraine and other issues that have unanimous support across the EU without triggering major consequences, and has even managed to extract concessions from the bloc in order to gain its vote.
"We are again getting into this game of what does (Orban) want?" one diplomat told Politico. "We should be a bit more forceful."
There are other indications that it may not be necessary to use the "nuclear option," which would be the first time an EU member had its voting rights restricted.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Jan. 25 that she was confident Orban would ultimately support the package.
Hungary has previously signaled it would potentially lift the veto on the condition that the aid be reviewed on a yearly basis.
There may be other pathways to securing the aid without Hungary's approval.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier in January that the EU will pass the package with 26 members, implying it was possible to do so without Hungary's consent. She added that she "strongly preferred" having the aid pass with the approval of all 27 member states.
It is unclear how such a move to bypass the need for unanimous support would occur.
The European Commission is working on "operational solutions" in the event the package fails to pass, said von der Leyen, but she did not specify what exactly those alternatives might be.
Timothy Ash
