Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
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.
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.
EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi talks to the media on June 2, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. (Pool/Getty Images)
EU members who are unhappy with Hungary's obstruction of collective support for Ukraine plan to respond by limiting the country's roles in the next European Commission, Politico reported on May 30, citing sources.
Budapest has repeatedly opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU, sanctions on Russia, undermined Western aid efforts for Ukraine, and maintained close relationswith Moscow throughout the full-scale war.
The ongoing Hungarian obstructionism has caused growing frustration from the EU, which is constrained by the need for unanimity on support for Ukraine.
Sources told Politico that there is "no appetite" in the EU for allowing Oliver Varhelyi, a Hungarian diplomat and the current European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, to keep his position in the forthcoming composition of the commission.
The role is influential and of crucial importance for Ukraine because of ongoing talks regarding its accession to the bloc.
After the incident, Varhelyi said he was the official in question and expressed "very sincere regret" that "a certain part of my phone conversation was taken out of context."
"After the disaster this time round with Varhelyi and the way Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is taking on (European Commission President Ursula) von der Leyen, there is no way she will hand over anything important (to) someone close to him," a diplomat told Politico.
Martin Fornusek
