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.
Kurt Volker said that now "there is more alignment" between Ukraine and the U.S. under the Trump Administration than at the beginning of 2025.
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.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
Russia to slow YouTube speeds after Google refuses to comply with censorship
Russia will deliberately slow YouTube loading speeds by up to 70% by the end of next week, in response to Google's refusal to comply with the demands of the Russian authorities, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said on July 25.
Khinshtein, the head of the State Duma's Information Policy Committee, claimed that the move is "not aimed against Russian users, but against the administration of a foreign resource that still believes that it can violate and ignore our legislation with impunity."
Russia's crackdown on freedom of speech, particularly regarding information that contradicts its narratives about the full-scale war, has intensified since 2022.
In April, a Moscow court rejected an appeal from Google's parent company, Alphabet, to remove an almost $50 million fine imposed on the company for its failure to delete information that Russia deems to be discrediting its armed forces and promoting extremist content.
YouTube users in Russia could see loading speeds on desktop computers dropping to 40% already by the end of this week, Khinshtein warned.
"This measure will only affect desktop versions. It will not affect mobile communications for now," Khinshtein said.
Khinshtein said that the summer period was chosen as the time to "bring YouTube to its senses," as most users are on vacation and will be using mobile devices to access videos rather than their desktops.
Khinshtein claimed that the measure is designed to show YouTube that Russia "has moved from persuasion to concrete steps," and the move is the consequence of YouTube's "anti-Russian policy."
Russian independent news outlet Meduza said that Russian officials had warned on July 12 of possible slowdowns in YouTube loading due to Google's "technical problems." A source reportedly told Meduza that Russia's federal censorship agency was already deliberately slowing the website's speed.
The same day, Russian pro-state outlet Gazeta.ru reported that the Russian government plans to block YouTube entirely in September.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the supposed plans to restrict the website, saying that according to "official statements from relevant companies," the equipment in question has "not been updated for over two years."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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