U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
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.
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.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during a session held as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 6, 2024. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Editor's note: This story was updated after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced the expulsion of two Hungarian diplomats from Kyiv.
Hungary has allegedly expelled two "spies" working under diplomatic cover at Ukraine's embassy in Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on May 9 on Facebook.
In response to Szijjarto's statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga said that Ukraine is expelling two Hungarian diplomats from Kyiv. They were given 48 hours to leave the country.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also summoned the Hungarian ambassador and handed him a note.
"We are acting in response to Hungary's actions, based on the principle of reciprocity and our national interests," Sybiha wrote on X.
Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast, detaining two agents accused of espionage against the Ukrainian state.
The operation's objectives reportedly included gathering intelligence on military defenses, identifying vulnerabilities in its ground and air defense systems, and assessing local residents' socio-political views, particularly scenarios of public reaction if Hungarian troops entered the region.
Szijjarto reacted to Kyiv's move, calling it "anti-Hungarian propaganda."
"The latest smear campaign against Hungarians is being launched for exactly the same reason as the previous ones. We Hungarians want peace, we say no to war, we have never supplied weapons to Ukraine, and we never will, and we have not allowed and will not allow ourselves to be dragged into this war, to drag Hungary into this war," Szijjarto said.
Szijjarto added that the Hungarian government will not tolerate "the constant launching of such defamatory actions against Hungary and the Hungarian people in Ukraine," as a reason for expelling the alleged "spies."
"We have handed over the decision and the note to this effect to the Ukrainian Ambassador in Budapest here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the last few minutes," the minister said.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify Szijjarto's claims.
Hungary maintains positive relations with Russia in contrast with other EU members. On March 26, Szijjarto visited Moscow to discuss continued economic cooperation between the two countries.
Hungary has also repeatedly opposed EU sanctions on Russia and opposed EU aid for Ukraine.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Yuliia Taradiuk
