The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
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.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attend a virtual meeting of Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon on March 15, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds - Pool/Getty Images)
The U.S. Department of Defense announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine worth $300 million on May 3.
The package includes more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), additional howitzers, artillery and mortar rounds, as well as small arms and small arms ammunition.
According to the Pentagon press release, Washington will also provide Ukraine with anti-tank and anti-armor weapon systems, anti-tank guided missiles, Hydra-70 aircraft rockets, demolition munition, trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment, and more.
"The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements," reads the Pentagon’s press release.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the United States has committed more than $35.4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
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