The parliament voted on May 8 to summon the head of the Bureau of Economic Security in connection to recent searches at a Kyiv-based business association and alleged pressure on the business sector, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said. CEO Club Ukraine said on May 6 that last month, the bureau's officials searched the association's premises. Although the officers found nothing out of order, anonymous Telegram channels began spreading false claims that the searches uncovered illicit establishments operating under the guise of the CEO Club, its founder said. The bureau announced on April 30 that i...
Kyiv Independent
Armenia will not partake in the financing of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yerevan announced on May 8. This comes as the latest in a series of steps the country has taken to distance itself from the Russian-led security alliance. Speaking to Factor.am, the country's Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Armenia would not contribute to the CSTO's 2024 budget, which was adopted in November of last year. The CSTO, which was established in 2002, includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russia is by far the most powerful member of the allian...
Kyiv Independent
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini called for peace between Russia and Ukraine and said that if necessary, Bratislava could host possible talks, Aktuality reported on May 8. The Slovak president is an ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been a vocal critic of military aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Speaking on the occasion of the Victory in Europe Day in the city of Banska Bystrica, the recently-elected head of state said that European leaders have a responsibility to ensure peace in Ukraine to avert "tragic scenarios." "Let's talk about a ceasefire, about peace scenarios...
Kyiv Independent
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, signed an order on May 8 to restore limited access for journalists to cover the legislature's work. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, journalists have been prohibited from attending plenary sessions due to security reasons. Ukraine's parliament also adopted a regulation on Sep. 6, 2022, forbidding live streaming of the sessions during martial law. Since then, the video recordings of the sessions have been uploaded with a delay on the parliament's YouTube channel. Only up to 30 journalists will be allowed to work...
Kyiv Independent
The embattled town of Chasiv Yar is "almost destroyed," but 679 people are still living there and have no desire to leave, Governor Vadym Filashkin said on May 8. Speaking to national television, Filashkin said it was becoming increasingly difficult for rescue and humanitarian workers to reach those that remained due to Russian shelling, with attempts only being made at night or early in the morning. Russian forces shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into the oblast, after capturing Avdiivka in February. "...
Kyiv Independent
Russia is forming a grouping of forces north of the city of Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on national television on May 8. Moscow recently intensified attacks against Kharkiv, which had a population of 1.4 million in 2021, with the use of missiles, glide bombs, and drones, destroying energy infrastructure and killing civilians. Russian forces failed to take Kharkiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion despite the fact that the city lies less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Russia "would need years" to occupy Kharkiv, Oleksandr Pivnenko, a commander of Ukraine's Na...
Kyiv Independent
EU ambassadors agreed in principle on a measure for using profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's recovery and military needs, the Belgian Presidency of the EU said on May 8. Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Roughly two-thirds are held in the Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear. "I welcome today's political agreement on our proposal to use the proceeds from immobilized Russian assets for Ukraine," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X. "T...
Kyiv Independent
A Ukrainian student attending Moscow State University detained three times by Russian authorities will be expelled from Russia, the Russian independent outlet news MediaZona reported on May 8. Serhii Hulko is currently being held in a detention center in Sakharovo just outside Moscow and will be sent to a third country – possibly Georgia – though the date of the expulsion is not yet known, his girlfriend Yana told MediaZona. According to the outlet, Hulko was first arrested on April 3 and detained for 10 days. After his release, he was detained again for writing "Glory to Ukraine!" on social m...
Kyiv Independent
The U.K. will expel a Russian defense attache, saying they are an "undeclared military intelligence officer," British Home Secretary James Cleverly said on May 8. Speaking to parliament, Cleverly said the move was in response to an increase in malign activity from the Kremlin, both in the U.K. and across Europe. "Today in conjunction with the Foreign Secretary (David Cameron), I am announcing a package of measures to make clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations," he said. "I can tell the House that we will expel the Russian defense attache, who is an undeclared mili...
Kyiv Independent
As Russia’s war drags on, it’s still early days for Ukraine’s reconstruction but issues are already lurking around one crucial component: cement. Rebuilding Ukraine after the war, which is unlikely to end any time soon and will continue to cause widespread destruction, is expected to cost $487 billion and will necessarily require a great deal of building materials. Cement is one of the main ingredients in concrete, used to build housing, roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, dams, and ports — all of which are regular targets of Russian attacks. Fighting in the country’s east and ongoing occupati...
Kyiv Independent
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