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.
Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
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.
PM Shmyhal meets Slovak counterpart Fico near Ukraine's Uzhhorod
Ukrainian and Slovak prime ministers Denys Shmyhal and Robert Fico began their meeting near the western Ukrainian border city of Uzhhorod on Oct. 7.
The two heads of government will discuss cooperation in energy security and infrastructure projects.
The meeting comes shortly after Fico's comments that as long as he is the prime minister, he will block Kyiv's entry into NATO.
"This is something that I have openly told Prime Minister Shmyhal, the Americans, and everyone else. As long as I am head of the Slovak government, I will direct the lawmakers under my control as chairman of the (ruling Smer) party never to agree to Ukraine joining NATO," Fico told Slovak media.
Ukraine applied for membership in September 2022 in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion but has yet to receive an invitation. The step would require a unanimous agreement of all the 32 members.
"It would only create a basis for World War III. Because ... once Ukraine is a NATO member and a conflict similar to the current one breaks out, it will count as an attack on a NATO member, and some extremely dangerous mechanisms can be triggered," Fico said, reiterating his previously voiced positions.
Since returning to office in October 2023 after winning the Slovak parliamentary elections on a populist platform, Fico has sharply criticized military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. This represented a sharp shift away from the previous government's policy, which supplied Kyiv with extensive arms supplies, including Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets.
In turn, the Slovak prime minister spoke in support of Ukraine's EU membership and largely avoided breaking Western consensus in major decisions on support for Ukraine.
Last week, Fico also said he would visit Moscow next year for the 80th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II. While the Slovak prime minister claimed the visit would not be connected to Russia's war, the Kremlin uses the annual victory celebrations for propaganda purposes and to showcase its military might.
"Next year will be the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Who will stop me from going to a peace rally in Moscow?” he asked.
"Why shouldn't I go? What does it have to do with the present?"
Fico previously met Shmyhal in Uzhhorod in January, during which both leaders signed a joint statement on bilateral relations.
Martin Fornusek
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