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.
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.
Slovak far-right politician Andrej Danko departs for Moscow with a delegation of Slovak MPs on Jan. 12, 2025. (Andrej Danko / Facebook / Slovak National Party)
A group of far-right Slovak MPs departed for Moscow on Jan. 12 to hold talks with Russian government officials on the continuation of Russian gas supplies and other issues, the Slovak news agency TASR reported.
The visit comes weeks after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Dec. 22.
The delegation is led by Andrej Danko, the chair of the co-ruling far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) and current deputy speaker of parliament, and Tibor Gaspar, a member of Fico's Smer (Direction) party, TASR reported.
Danko also claimed that Poland refused to allow the delegation's flight to enter their airspace, and that their plane had to be rerouted via Czechia and Germany.
"I don't understand Poland's position, but I take it as a reality," he said.
The Slovak delegates will reportedly meet with representatives from the Russian State Duma and other government officials. According to Gaspar, the group will ask whether Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom can continue to supply gas to Slovakia despite Ukraine's decision to halt the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
The stoppage of Russian gas flows via Ukraine has heightened tensions between Kyiv and Bratislava. Fico, already critical of military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, threatened to cut energy and humanitarian support after the transit deal expired.
Despite the EU's attempts to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, countries like Slovakia and Hungary remain heavily reliant on Russian gas.
The delegation is expected to return to Slovakia on Jan. 15.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Paula Erizanu
