More than 1,000 Russian government entities and 1,200 private companies are involved in the economy of occupied Mariupol, a major southeastern city occupied by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to a research paper published on May 14.
The measures target almost 200 ships of Russia's "shadow fleet," 30 companies involved in sanctions evasion, 75 sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, and more.
The government has approved "reform roadmaps in the rule of law, public administration, and democratic institutions, as well as Ukraine’s negotiation position," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
The statement did not name the ex-official by name, but details of the case indicate it relates to Oleh Hladkovsky, a former deputy secretary of Ukraine's top security body who has been wanted since mid-April.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
"Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv. "And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process."
The EU plans to significantly increase tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the current duty-free deal lapses on June 6, the Financial Times reported on May 14, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting the Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia in Korolyov, outside Moscow, on Oct. 26, 2023. (Grigory Sysoyev/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon with potential nuclear capabilities in 2022, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on May 16, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
The officials said that Russia had launched a satellite into space in February 2022 to test components for a potential anti-satellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device. However, the satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon, the WSJ reported.
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee warned in February of a "serious" but unspecified security threat from Russia. Reports then followed that the threat relates to Russia's desire to "put a nuclear weapon into space."
U.S. President Joe Biden later said that Moscow was indeed developing an anti-satellite space weapon, but it did not endanger people on Earth. He added that there had not yet been a decision to launch the weapon into space.
The Russian satellite, named the Cosmos-2553, was launched in February 2022 and has been orbiting Earth since then, operating as a platform to test "nonnuclear components of the new weapon system," officials told the WSJ.
Russian officials have claimed that the Cosmos-2553 is "intended for scientific research," which the U.S. officials say is unlikely. The Kremlin has previously denied that it has any intention to put nuclear weapons in space.
If Cosmos-2553 or a similar satellite were equipped with nuclear weapons, it could destroy hundreds of satellites in low orbit with a blast.
Outgoing Pentagon official John Plumb told Congress that it would be an "indiscriminate weapon" that has no "national boundaries, (and) doesn't determine between military satellites, civilian satellites, or commercial satellites."
Dinara Khalilova
