U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
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.
Yevhenii Matvieiev, the mayor of occupied Dniprorudne, who died in Russian captivity. (Governor Ivan Fedorov/Telegram)
Yevhenii Matvieiev, the mayor of the occupied Dniprorudne town, was tortured to death in Russian captivity, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said on his Telegram channel on Dec. 4.
"People are the most valuable thing we are losing in this merciless war waged by the terrorist country of Russia," the governor said.
Russian forces occupied the southeastern town of Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast during the early days of the war, taking the mayor to captivity and submitting him to torture, Fedorov said.
Matvieiev spent two years and eight months in captivity before dying. His body was returned to Ukraine during the latest exchange.
"Yevhenii was a true patriot, not indifferent to the fate of his country and his community. He always worked with people and for people, listened, and helped everyone who needed it," Fedorov said.
"During the occupation, he did not leave the town or the people, did everything to ensure the (continuation of the) life of the community, constantly informed the population about the course of events and supported them."
Russia's occupation has been accompanied by widespread human rights abuses, including torture and murder of civilians. Mass kidnappings were not uncommon in Russian-occupied territories in the early days of the war and reached its apogee with the abduction of 20,000 children.
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.
