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.
Georgian anti-Western politician Mikheil Kavelashvili, an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party, was inaugurated as the country's sixth president on Dec. 29 in a move seen as illegitimate by the opposition.
Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, said she would vacate the presidential palace but stressed she remains the only legitimate head of state, pledging to continue the struggle against the ruling party.
Zourabichvili called Kavelashvili's election a "mockery of democracy" as the former football player was elected as the only candidate on the ballot by the new parliament seen as illegitimate by its opponents.
The inauguration ceremony in the parliament building was attended by oligarch and Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili but not by foreign diplomats, who were not invited due to alleged "lack of space."
Pro-EU Zourabichvili called upon the government's opponents to gather at the presidential palace to join yet another rally against the Russian-friendly Georgian Dream party. Opposition parties said they would continue to recognize Zourabichvili as the legitimate president.
The most recent waves of protests have been ongoing in the South Caucasus country since Georgian Dream claimed victory in the October parliamentary elections disputed by the opposition and international observers.
The government stepped in with riot police and tear gas against the protesters and said that the country's EU accession process would be suspended at least until 2028 amid Western criticism.
Speaking to citizens gathering at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, Zourabichvili called the ruling party "locked up, scared, corrupt, illegitimate, unrecognized, subject to sanctions" in an apparent reference to recent U.S. sanctions on Ivanishvili.
Zourabichvili said that her loyalty to the Georgian people does not change based on whether she is inside or outside the presidential palace, adding: "I will leave here with you and will be with you. I take with me legitimacy, the flag, your trust."
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze threatened Zourabichvili ahead of the inauguration by forcibly removing her and placing her in a "correctional facility" if she refused to leave the presidential seat voluntarily.
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, has been accused of undermining the country's democracy and dragging it into the Kremlin's orbit while derailing EU accession efforts.
The ruling-party-backed foreign agents law, compared to similar repressive legislation in Russia, was adopted in May amid widespread criticism from international partners and mass protests at home.
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.
Elsa Court
