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.
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.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Secretary of Russia's Security Council Sergei Shoigu (L) in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 5, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Iran has requested modern air defense systems from Russia as it prepares for a possible war with Israel, with deliveries already underway, the New York Times (NYT) reports on Aug. 5, citing undisclosed Iranian officials.
Russia's National Security Council Secretary and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Tehran on Aug. 5 as the country allegedly prepares to retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil on July 31.
Shoigu met with Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the commander of the Iranian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Bagheri, who is leading the planning of military strikes against Israel, and the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
Two Iranian officials familiar with the war planning, one of whom is a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, confirmed to NYT that Iran has asked Russia for air defense equipment.
Russia has begun supplying modern radars and air defense equipment, according to the Iranian officials who spoke on the conditions of anonymity.
Iranian state television showed Shoigu and Bagheri greeting each other, meeting face-to-face, and then participating in a larger meeting at the negotiating table with members of the Russian delegation and Iranian military officials.
"We are ready for full cooperation with Iran on regional issues," Shoigu reportedly said.
Bagheri also told Shoigu that the relationship between their nations was "deep, long-term, and strategic" and would only expand under Iran's new government, according to Iranian state media.
Iran is one of Russia's closest allies on the international stage. The two countries have only deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia also has economic and cultural ties with Israel, as a large number of Russian Jews live there. But Moscow cannot afford to refuse to help Tehran because it relies heavily on Iranian drones in Ukraine, NYT said.
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.
Ana Palacio
