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.
National Police examine damaged property in the village of Esman, Sumy Oblast on Jan. 1. (National Police/Telegram)
Russian forces attacked four communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Jan. 1, firing 12 times over the course of the day, the Sumy Oblast military administration reported.
The communities of Khotin, Krasnopillia, Esman, and Velyka Pysarivka came under fire. More than 68 explosions were recorded.
Russia targeted the region with mortar and artillery attacks, as well as drones. At least two civilians died of injuries after a Russian Shahed drone hit a two-story residential building in the village of Esman on Jan. 1. One other person was injured in the attack, according to the military.
Esman, home to over 1,000 residents, is located some 21 kilometers southwest of the Russia-Ukraine border.
Shelling is a daily occurrence for the communities near Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia. Residents in the region's vulnerable border settlements experience multiple attacks per day.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Igor Kossov
