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.
Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, speaks at a conference on July 29, 2024 in Kyiv. Ilustrative purposes. (hurricanehank/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russia fulfilled its goal of mobilizing thousands of men in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine last year, Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, told the news outlet Ukrinform in an interview Feb. 22.
In its efforts to avoid an unpopular mass mobilization campaign at home, Russia has illegally drafted thousands of residents living in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as well as in occupied Crimea.
Russia exceeded its mobilization goals for these regions in 2024, Okhrimenko told Ukrinform, citing Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
"In 2024, Russia had to mobilize thousands of people from the newly occupied territories and those who had previously been under occupation," Okhrimenko said.
"According to (HUR), this plan has been fulfilled by 104%. They have a plan for mobilization here and for the current year. It is also thousands of people."
Okhrimenko did not say exactly how many people in the occupied territories had been drafted into the Russian military.
The Ukrainian government is working on amending legislation to remove prisoner of war (POW) status from forcibly mobilized Ukrainians who are later captured in Ukraine.
"There is a certain legal incident in international documents, international law, so we are working on amending Resolution No. 413 and a number of other resolutions," Okhrimenko said.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has supplemented its troops by forcibly drafting tens of thousands of Ukrainians in occuped territories. Nearly 5,500 residents of Russian-occupied Crimea were mobilized into the Russian army in 2024 — a year that saw record personnel lossesas Moscow ramped up its offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Forced conscription under occupation constitutes a war crime under international law.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Francis Farrell
