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.
The main square of the far eastern Russian city of Birobidzhan, the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, on March 11, 2011. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Anna Yeroshenko/AFP via Getty Images)
A court in the far eastern Russian city of Birobidzhan sentenced a student to five years in prison on July 11 for allegedly passing the locations of Russian troops in Ukraine to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The student collected information "using the internet" about the locations of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine in exchange for payment from the SBU, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) told the state-run media outlet RIA Novosti.
It is unclear what information the student would have been able to collect online from his residency in Birobidzhan, located some 8,000 kilometers (4,970) from the Ukrainian border.
The student reportedly confessed to sharing information and was convicted of treason but sentenced to only five years due to his cooperation with authorities, RIA Novosti said.
Treason can carry a life sentence.
The Kyiv Independent cannot verify this information, and the Russian judicial system is widely thought to be systematically unfair. Torture and forced confessions are also commonplace practices among law enforcement officers, human rights organizations have found.
Birobidzhan, situated just north of the Chinese border, was formed as the capital of the newly created Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the 1930s during Soviet times. While still retaining the name, the vast majority of the Jewish population, which peaked at 25% of the oblast in the 1940s, has since left.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on dissent since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has seen thousands of his citizens arrested and many jailed.
In 2023, at least 21,000 people were targeted by Russia's "repressive laws" used to "crack down" on anti-war activists," according to Amnesty International.
Martin Fornusek
