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.
Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
‘Absolutely unacceptable’ — Appointment of Ukrainian judge who visited occupied Crimea, Russia triggers criticism
The appointment of a Ukrainian judge who visited Russia and occupied Crimea during Moscow's war against Ukraine has sparked criticism from the head of the country’s main judicial watchdog.
The High Council of Justice, Ukraine's top judicial governing body, appointed Oleksandra Shulika as a judge of Kirovohrad Oblast's Onufriivka District Court on Jan. 14.
The decision highlights the continued presence of officials with ties to Russia in the Ukrainian government. While some officials with Russian passports and other links to Russia have been fired, others remain in their positions.
Ukraine has a constitutional ban on judges and other officials with foreign passports.
Shulika went to Crimea in 2014 after its illegal annexation by Russia and visited Russia several times from 2015 to 2019.
"This is absolutely unacceptable," Mykhailo Zhernakov, executive director of the judicial watchdog the Dejure Foundation, wrote in a post on Facebook.
“Not only do they help representatives of the judicial mafia remain in their positions but also allow sympathizers of Russia to take vacant positions in the judicial system,” he said.
Ukraine's judiciary is still notoriously corrupt despite repeated attempts to reform it, according to watchdogs. Some Ukrainian judges have routinely obstructed justice and blocked reforms.
“How do you like this 'reformed' body? And what do you think — will they let us into the EU with this kind of system?"
The High Council of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.
Kollen Post
Zhernakov said the appointment of judges who visited Russia and the occupied territories during the war violates the High Council of Justice's own guidelines.
This is not the first scandal around a judge with ties to Russia.
Bohdan Lvov, a former deputy chairman of the Supreme Court, received Russian citizenship in 1999 and still had a valid Russian passport, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes investigation project reported in 2022.
Schemes cited official information from Russia’s Federal Tax Service and leaked documents from Russia’s official passport database.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later confirmed that Lvov had Russian citizenship.
Vsevolod Knyazev, then head of the Supreme Court, fired Lvov in October 2022 due to a constitutional ban on judges having foreign citizenship.
The Kyiv District Administrative Court issued a ruling in January 2024 to reinstate Lvov as a Supreme Court judge. The court claimed that there was not enough proof of Lvov’s Russian citizenship.
In June 2024, an appellate court reversed the ruling and rejected Lvov's lawsuit for reinstatement.
Oleg Sukhov
Most Popular
After Russia's deadly attack on Kyiv, Vance reposts denunciation of Zelensky
Ukraine, Europe's ceasefire proposal includes US security guarantees, no recognition of Crimea, Reuters reports
After 3 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe announces plan to ban all Russian gas imports
Shoigu threatens Europe with nuclear weapons if Russia is faced with 'unfriendly actions'
Journalist Roshchyna's body missing organs after Russian captivity, investigation says
Editors' Picks
How medics of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade deal with horrors of drone warfare
As Russia trains abducted children for war, Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them home
'I just hate the Russians' — Kyiv district recovers from drone strike as ceasefire remains elusive
