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.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
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.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
A Russian flag hangs on a monument to Russian instructors in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 22, 2023, during a march in support of Russia's presence in the country. (Barbara Debout/AFP)
The U.K. government on Nov. 7 announced its largest package of sanctions against Russia since May 2023, focusing on the Russian defense industry and mercenary groups.
The new 56 listings include the Moscow-backed mercenary group Africa Corps, private companies linked to the Wagner Group, and suppliers feeding Russia's war through arms and dual-use goods.
Russia has long been using private military groups, most notoriously Wagner, to back friendly regimes in Africa and loot natural resources. Their activities have been accompanied by widespread human rights violations.
The Russian Defense Ministry launched the Africa Corps in 2024 to replace Wagner after the group's brief rebellion in June 2023 and the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a plane crash in August of that year. The U.K. is now the first G7 country to sanction Africa Corps, a group bearing the same name as Nazi forces in Africa in World War II.
Africa Corps, two other private mercenary groups, and 11 Kremlin-linked individuals have been sanctioned over human rights abuses and threatening peace and security in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic, the U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement.
"Today's measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin's corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia's attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
"And smashing the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to forge."
The list further includes 28 entities based in China, Central Asia, and Turkey that provide "machine tools, microelectronics, components for drones, ball bearings or other goods to the Russian military-industrial complex."
The U.K. sanctioned Russian military intelligence (GRU) Denis Sergeev, also going by the name "Sergej Fedotov," who was linked by British authorities to the Novichok poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018 in Salisbury, U.K.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Ray Hartley
