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.
People walk down an empty street in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Dec. 26, 2024. (Yevhenii Vasyliev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
As Russian troops continue approaching the city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine halts the extraction of coking coal near the city, Reuters reported on Jan. 13, citing unnamed sources.
"They have all stopped working now," one Reuters source said. "There's no production there, they're only working on the surface," another Reuters source added.
The Pokrovsk coal mine, one of the largest in Eastern Europe, is located 10 km (6 miles) west of Pokrovsk. The mine produces coal for coke production needed in steelmaking, which is Ukraine's second-largest export after agriculture.
The coal mine, owned by steelmaker Metinvest BV, was the only one in Ukraine producing coking coal.
The eastern front near the town has been the scene of fierce fighting for several months and a focal point of Russia's offensive in Donetsk Oblast, given Pokrovsk's importance as a logistics hub for Ukrainian forces.
According to trade data, exports of steel products totaled nearly $2 billion in the first eight months of 2024.
Experts say Ukrainian steelmakers could have produced up to 7.5 million metric tons of steel by the end of 2024 and planned to increase production to more than 10 million tons in 2025.
Losing Pokrovsk, however, would set back production to 2-3 million tons a year.
Boldizsar is a former Reuters correspondent for Hungary, currently based in Kharkiv, reporting for the Kyiv Independent and various other outlets. He holds degrees in political science, philosophy, and development policy.
