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.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu casts her ballot in local elections in the capital, Chisinau, on Nov. 5, 2023. (Elena Covalenco / AFP via Getty Images)
Moldovan President Maia Sandu approved changes to the country's treason laws on June 10, overriding concerns from opposition parties and Amnesty International.
The changes, which were approved by the parliament the previous week, apply some wartime treason laws to peacetime, extend punishments, and create a new category of laws for assisting a foreign state.
Pro-Russian opposition parties condemned Sandu's decision, claiming that the changes to the criminal code limited freedom of speech and the ability of opposition journalists to work unimpeded.
The concerns were also echoed in a report published in May by Amnesty International, which said that "the broadened definition of high treason is vague and open to abuse."
Chisinau has been supportive of Ukraine throughout the full-scale war and cracked down on Russian subversive operations at home, expelling dozens of diplomats and embassy staff in July 2023 after revelations of espionage activities.
Elected on a pro-EU platform in 2020, Sandu has continued to make Moldova's EU accession one of her top priorities, drawing the ire of pro-Russian political parties.
The European Council agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in December 2023. Moldova's parliament then announced in May that it would be holding a referendum on joining the bloc in October, which will coincide with the presidential election, in which Sandu is seeking another term.
While recent polls have found that a majority (63%) of Moldovans support joining the EU, a significant minority, often linked to pro-Russian sentiment, remain opposed.
Elsa Court
