Europe

With Orban out, Slovakia's Fico shifts tone on Ukraine
Europe

With Orban out, Slovakia's Fico shifts tone on Ukraine

by Martin Fornusek

Viktor Orban's electoral defeat appears to be easing Ukraine's relations with not one, but two of its neighbors. President Volodymyr Zelensky met Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Yerevan on May 4, continuing an unexpectedly constructive exchange between the two leaders. Zelensky and Fico agreed their governments would hold talks in Kyiv or Bratislava by the end of June to develop cooperation in transport infrastructure and energy, according to the Slovak government. "We are neighbors, we

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Ukraine's point man with Trump tested as corruption probe intensifies

Newly released recordings linked to Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal have put Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, back into the spotlight, prompting renewed scrutiny over his role in U.S.-brokered peace negotiations. The developments come at a particularly sensitive moment. Umerov, a former defense minister, has not been formally charged but is allegedly under investigation. He is reportedly mentioned in the most recent set of leaked recordings, tying him

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3, 2026.
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