The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck during the latter's visit to Kyiv on April 18, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Germany's Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck during the latter's visit to Kyiv on April 18.
The president and Habeck, who is also Germany's economy and environment minister, discussed Ukraine's need for more air defenses.
Habeck arrived in Ukraine's capital together with Helmut Rauch, the head of Germany's Diehl Defense company that manufactures IRIS-T air defense systems.
In a comment for the German magazine Bild, Rauch said: "Three of our systems are already in Ukraine, and more will be delivered this year. The next one is just a few weeks away."
"I thank Germany and the German society for their very important assistance to Ukraine throughout the full-scale war," Zelensky said on his Telegram channel.
"We cannot overestimate the value of your decision to send a new Patriot system. Protecting the sky is our priority today."
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Francis Farrell
