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.
Illustrative photo of flames come out of the tower of an oil refinery plant. (Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, amid reports of explosions and a possible drone attack overnight on March 17.
Residents of Slavyansk-on-Kuban reported hearing explosions in the town and said that a local factory was on fire, according to the Russian Telegram news channel Baza.
At least one refinery worker was killed, Baza and other Russian news outlets claimed. Emergency personnel are at work on the site.
Russian media said the fire was most likely caused by a Ukrainian drone strike. Locals told the news channel Ostorozhno that a group of over five drones hit the facility.
In the past week, Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of drone strikes targeting Russia's oil industry. Ukraine has hit oil refineries in Samara, Ryazan, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, and Leningrad oblasts.
The targeted facilities account for about 12% of Russia's oil-processing capacity, Bloomberg reportedon March 14.
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on reports of the strike.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his March 16 address that Ukraine's drone operations in Russia show that Kyiv is capable of striking long-range targets.
"What our own drones are capable of is a true Ukrainian long-range capability. Ukraine will now always have a strike force in the sky," he said.
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.
Andrii Kharuk
