The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
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.
The sanctions list includes 58 individuals and 74 companies, with 67 Russian enterprises related to military technology.
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.
Despite the Kremlin's announcement of a May 8–11 truce, heavy fighting continued in multiple regions throughout the front line.
Putin has done in Russia everything that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had been against in Brazil.
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.
Rubio asked Hungary not to block EU sanctions, Politico reports

Hungary has dropped its threat to block the extension of EU sanctions against Russia following a conversation between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Politico reported on March 17, citing undisclosed sources.
In January, Budapest said it plans to veto the sanctions renewal, citing U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and the possibility of a shift in U.S. policy toward Russia.
Since then, Trump has warned Russia of additional sanctions and trade measures unless it agrees to peace talks in Ukraine.
According to two Politico sources, Rubio urged Szijjarto to refrain from undermining the EU sanctions system, contributing to Budapest's decision to support the measures.
The outlet nevertheless notes that Trump could alter his approach at any time by offering to ease sanctions as part of negotiations with Russia. If that happens, the EU could lose leverage over Hungary, which has repeatedly used its veto power to extract concessions from Brussels.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, widely considered the EU's most Russian-friendly leader, has consistently opposed military aid for Ukraine and warned that Ukraine's EU accession would "destroy" Hungary.
Orban has maintained close ties with Russia despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The EU's sanctions framework includes economic measures and restrictions on over 2,400 individuals and entities linked to Russia.
Since sanctions must be extended unanimously, a Hungarian veto could force the EU to negotiate new compromises or risk a lapse in enforcement.

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