His name was Volodymyr Sviatnenko, 43, known as Znakhar. He was an unmanned aerial vehicle pilot serving in the 35th Separate Marine Brigade. A Russian ballistic missile killed him in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 1 November, when he, together with other military personnel, gathered for a ceremonial formation to receive awards. Now, the families of the Ukrainian defenders want to know why that happened. 

He survived the frontlines but was killed at parade

His brother, journalist Dmytro Sviatnenko, said on social media that Volodymyr had been fighting for the Ukrainian Army since 2023.

“He endured hell in Krynky, Kurakhove, Marianka, Krasnohorivka… He was killed by Russians. But not on the battlefield. Deep in the rear,” he wrote in his post. 

Dmytro added that his brother and comrades gathered on the parade ground to receive their military awards.

"The best were gathered. The best pilots and infantry soldiers of the brigade. By order. In the open. A ballistic missile hit. A story of negligence (or possible negligence) repeated itself," he said. 

According to the journalist, Volodymyr was highly valued in the brigade, and the press service even produced a story about him. He was held up as an example to others. 

“He carried the wounded, saved comrades – his call sign ‘Znakhar’ was well-earned. From an anti-tank sailor, he became a UAV pilot. He was the first to fly using optics. He taught and motivated his comrades," Sviatnenko said. 

The journalist also added that his brother had been allowed to travel abroad on leave, from where he returned to service.

Were safety protocols ignored? Ukraine investigates

After the attack, the State Bureau of Investigation reported it had launched a pre-trial investigation into the deaths and injuries of Ukrainian soldiers. 

Preliminary findings indicate that around 5:00 p.m. on 1 November, Russian forces carried out a missile strike on a Ukrainian military base, resulting in casualties.

An investigative and operational team immediately arrived at the scene to establish all the circumstances.

Among other things, investigators are checking whether safety requirements for personnel were followed during the air alert and whether proper shelters were organized for the military.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted under Part 4 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, specifically regarding negligent treatment of military service committed under martial law conditions.

How Russian strike unfolded across Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

On 1 November, Russians also struck the village of Novotroitske in the Samarskyi District of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a ballistic missile and a drone. Among the dead and injured were two children.

The occupiers also attacked the cities of Nikopol, Pokrovska, Marhanets, and Chervonohryhorivka communities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast using FPV drones and artillery fire.

Ukraine's Eastern Military Group reported that the missile and drone strike resulted in deaths and injuries among Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.

An inspection was initiated regarding the timeliness of missile warnings, restrictions on personnel placement, holding meetings and assemblies in open areas, and the use of locations not intended for such purposes.

Russia fights against the light. On 30 October, Russian aviation dropped guided bombs on the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant. Two people were killed, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

This is a deliberate attempt to paralyze the energy sector, leave civilians without electricity and heat, and create a humanitarian crisis. The terrorist attack also breaches international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions.

Using violence to intimidate civilians in order to force political or military decisions qualifies as terror and may constitute a war crime.

"This is pure terror"

The strike on the Sloviansk TPP is also a violation of international legislation because the facility is civilian, the attack caused deaths and injuries among civilians, and it created a threat to the population’s energy security.

“A few hours ago, there was a strike on the Sloviansk TPP — Russian bombs. Unfortunately, two people were killed. My condolences. There are injured,” said Zelenskyy.

Part of the Donbas fortress belt

Donbas is an industrial area in the east of Ukraine that includes two regions: Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Russians have been attempting to seize them for 12 years. 

Control over Sloviansk would enable Russian occupiers to strengthen their defenses and establish logistical routes for further operations in the Donbas, including those toward Kramatorsk.

Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Pokrovsk are part of the Donbas fortress belt. Together, these cities form Ukraine’s eastern stronghold. If it falls, the defensive ring could be flanked, leaving the heart of Donbas vulnerable. 

Ukraine counters terror with Norway, Germany, Netherlands

In his night address to the nation, Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia deliberately conducts terrorist attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, and the world must respond. 

"This is pure terror. Such Russian warfare requires an appropriate response from the world," he claimed. 

Zelenskyy reported that active negotiations are underway with partners to strengthen Ukraine’s energy sector, supply equipment, and compensate for losses.

Specifically:

• Norway — agreements to support gas purchases.
• Germany, Italy, Netherlands — cooperation on electricity generation equipment.
• European Commission — expected support for energy resilience.
• G7 — Ukraine’s Energy Minister is holding negotiations with the energy ministers of the G7.

Russia is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, according to independent UN human rights investigators. Moscow is carrying out systematic, coordinated actions aimed at driving Ukrainians from their homes.

Russia expels residents from at least three Ukrainian regions

In its report on the situation in Ukraine, the UN Commission of Inquiry states that Russian forces have committed two crimes against humanity: "firstly, of 'murder and of forcible transfer of population' and secondly, 'deportations and transfers of civilians' from areas occupied by Russian forces, some of whom were tortured." 

The report highlights that attacks stretching over 300 kilometers along the right bank of the Dnipro River — across the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts — represent a coordinated campaign to force Ukrainians from their homes.

Russian forces have deliberately targeted:

• Individuals
• Homes, buildings, and humanitarian aid distribution points
• Critical energy infrastructure
• Ambulances and fire brigades, which are granted special protection under international humanitarian law

“We are hit every day, drones fly at any time - morning, evening, day or night, constantly,” said a man interviewed for the report.

Russia’s deliberate terror against civilians

The UN-appointed investigative commission, established in March 2022 by the Human Rights Council, gathered testimonies from residents living under bombardment who described their conditions as “unbearable.”

The findings are based on approximately 500 verified videos of crimes, with 247 geolocated incidents, and 226 interviews with Ukrainian citizens.

The report also documents detentions, torture, and the confiscation of documents and property — actions that "inflicted severe mental pain and suffering and amount to inhuman treatment as a war crime and a violation of human rights."

Many attacks repeatedly struck the same vehicles and infrastructure, intentionally setting them ablaze and spreading terror among civilians, violating their fundamental rights.

The commission also reviewed Russia’s claims about Ukrainian drone strikes on civilian targets in occupied territories but said it could not draw conclusions due to a lack of access, security concerns for witnesses, and non-cooperation from Russian authorities.

The Russian government has enacted a new decree that creates a legal mechanism to seize private property from Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories, officially re-designating homes as "ownerless" if the original owners have fled. This move formalizes the large-scale appropriation of assets, particularly from those who evacuated due to the full-scale war.

This bureaucratic maneuver provides a legal facade for the systematic seizure of thousands of properties, which are then used to incentivize Russian citizens and military personnel to relocate to occupied lands. The act represents a potential war crime, adding to a growing list of perpetrations to be addressed by international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC).

What the new decree mandates

The new legal framework, reported by RBC-Ukraine, establishes a process for occupation authorities to identify and register "ownerless" real estate. This primarily targets the property of Ukrainians who fled to Ukrainian government-controlled territory or abroad.

Once a property is listed, the legal owner is often given an impossibly short window, sometimes as little as 30 days, to appear in person with Russian-issued identification and property documents to reclaim their assets. This forces Ukrainians to an impossible choice: return to occupied territory and accept Russian citizenship, or forfeit their homes.

A tool for demographic change

This policy is not just looting; it is a systematic tool of demographic engineering. Reports from occupied cities like Mariupol have shown that seized apartments are being "nationalized" and then re-issued to Russian military personnel, collaborators, and Russian citizens (such as teachers, doctors, and construction workers) brought in from Russia.

This legalizes a "plunder by paperwork" that began in Crimea after its 2014 annexation and has now been accelerated in the occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. International law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention (specifically Article 33 prohibiting pillage and Article 46 protecting private property from confiscation), explicitly forbids an occupying power from confiscating private property.

Ukraine warns of “state-level robbery”

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) issued a statement calling the Russian decree a cover for "state-level robbery." The CCD warned that the decree is a propaganda move intended to create a facade of legality for theft. Moscow's decision only confirms that the “alienation of ‘ownerless’ real estate is an element of a deliberate policy to displace the Ukrainian population from the temporarily occupied territories and settle these regions with Russian citizens loyal to the Kremlin,” the CCD said.

European Union foreign ministers sharply criticized plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Budapest despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, exposing deep divisions as Hungary prepares to welcome the war crimes suspect for talks with US President Donald Trump.

The controversy centers on Budapest—the same city where Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal in 1994 for security assurances Moscow now violates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned against "another Budapest scenario" but would attend if included in talks with Trump and Putin. The planned summit follows August's Alaska meeting between Trump and Putin that produced no breakthrough, while Hungary's defiance of the ICC undermines European credibility on international law.

EU foreign ministers split into opposite camps on Putin's visit to Budapest

As they gathered on Monday for a meeting in Luxembourg, foreign affairs ministers of the European Union balanced between backing Trump's diplomatic efforts and upholding the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seeks Putin for the deportation and transfer of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. However, some ministers voiced sharp criticism of Putin's anticipated Budapest visit.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said at a press briefing on 20 October that “…is not nice. To see that really a person, with an arrest warrant put by the ICC, is coming to a European country." She questioned whether the Budapest summit would yield results, noting that "Russia only understands strength and only negotiates when it is really put to negotiate."

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, speaking to the press ahead of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, stated that a "clear message" must be sent regarding Europe's stance on Russia. He declared, “We have to hold the principles of Europe that we all agree. And the only place for Putin in Europe that's in The Hague, in front of the tribunal, not in any of our capitals."

While calling it “useful” for Americans to be able to speak with Russians, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot emphasized that Vladimir Putin's presence on EU territory has a specific purpose. “But this presence of Vladimir Putin on European Union soil only makes sense if it allows for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire,” he said, according to Euractiv.

Other Western European ministers adopted more accommodating positions.

When Euractiv asked if Hungary was setting the EU’s agenda, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen replied that Budapest is “just a venue for a meeting.”

According to Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister David van Weel, there are some reservations among European leaders about the location of the meeting. “On the other hand, the most important thing is that we have a negotiating table, that we get the parties around the table,” Weel said.

Germany’s Europe Minister, Gunther Krichbaum, commented, “It’s good that such a meeting is happening,” but also warned about the danger of excluding Ukraine from any potential agreement, according to Euractiv.

Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares encouraged Europeans to focus on what they can do to support Ukraine rather than "asking what others will do," Euronews reports.

The split reflects broader tensions over Hungary's democratic trajectory. In September 2022, the European Parliament declared Hungary "can no longer be considered a full democracy" in a 433-123 vote, characterizing it as an "electoral autocracy."

Hungary vows to ensure Putin's safe passage despite ICC obligations

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced, "We are a sovereign country. We will respectfully welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, receive him as a guest and provide conditions for his negotiations with the American president."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted on X, “The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world. We are ready!”

Hungary announced its intention to withdraw from the ICC in April 2025 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also under an ICC arrest warrant, visited Budapest. The Hungarian parliament approved the withdrawal in May, but it remains technically bound by the Rome Statute until June 2026.

An ICC spokesperson told Euronews that "a withdrawal does not impact ongoing proceedings or any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective."

History haunts: Where Ukraine gave up nukes for broken Russian promises

The choice of Budapest carries bitter historical irony for Ukraine. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum, signed in the Hungarian capital, saw Ukraine surrender the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom—promises Moscow now violates through its war of aggression.

Zelenskyy told reporters on 20 October he wants to avoid "another Budapest scenario," referencing the failed security guarantees. He also said that Ukraine would agree to a meeting in Budapest provided that it would take place in a trilateral format or in a "shuttle diplomacy" format, when Trump meets separately with him and Putin.

However, Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about Orbán's role, doubting the Hungarian leader's ability to "provide a balanced contribution."

Related:

• Hungary vows Putin honored guest treatment for Trump talks despite legal duty to arrest him
• "Putin outplayed Trump again": Russia pulls US president into Budapest meeting on its terms, says expert

An attorney in a New York Supreme Court commercial case got caught using AI in his filings, and then got caught using AI again in the brief where he had to explain why he used AI, according to court documents filed earlier this month.

New York Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen wrote in a decision granting the plaintiff’s attorneys’ request for sanctions that the defendant’s counsel, Michael Fourte’s law offices, not only submitted AI-hallucinated citations and quotations in the summary judgment brief that led to the filing of the plaintiff’s motion for sanctions, but also included “multiple new AI-hallucinated citations and quotations” in the process of opposing the motion. 

“In other words,” the judge wrote, “counsel relied upon unvetted AI — in his telling, via inadequately supervised colleagues — to defend his use of unvetted AI.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on July 8 that it had issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity and gender-based persecution following the group's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

The move follows Russia's recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government on July 3. Russia, which had previously designated the Taliban as a banned terrorist group, became the first country in the world to recognize it.

In a statement, the ICC named Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan's top judge Abdul Hakim Haqqani as suspects in a campaign of systematic oppression targeting women, girls, and others who do not conform to the group's rigid gender ideology.

The court said the alleged crimes took place across Afghanistan from the Taliban's return to power on August 15, 2021, and continued at least until Jan. 20, 2025. The suspects are believed to have played key roles in the enforcement of Taliban policies that led to "murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance."

The persecution was not limited to women and girls, according to the ICC. The court said that men perceived as allies of women or opponents of Taliban ideology were also targeted.

The ICC emphasized that the Taliban implemented a state-led policy of repression that violated fundamental human rights and freedoms across the country.

Most of the international community has refused to formally recognize the Taliban regime due to its human rights abuses and failure to meet international standards.

Meanwhile, since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the Kremlin has deepened relationships with authoritarian regimes, including North Korea, Iran, and now the Taliban. Russia has expanded trade with Afghanistan and allowed Taliban officials to participate in Russian forums.

In December 2024, the Russian State Duma passed a law allowing certain groups, including the Taliban, to be removed from the country's list of banned terrorist organizations. The move paved the way for official recognition.

Putin has referred to the Taliban as "allies," and Lavrov has called them "sane people," despite the group's ongoing enforcement of strict Islamic law, including gender apartheid, public executions, and bans on women's education.

Seeing war through the lens of narcissism

We usually think of narcissism as a personal flaw — a grandiose ego, a craving for attention, a lack of empathy. But what if narcissism is not just a diagnosis, but a lens? A way of understanding how individuals — and even entire nations — cope with wounds too painful to face directly?

The Kyiv IndependentDr. Gary E Myers

Kyiv's Desniansky District Court has formally recognized a same-sex couple as a family, marking the first legal precedent of its kind in Ukraine, human rights organization Insight LGBTQ announced on July 3.

Ukraine does not currently recognize same-sex marriages or partnerships, and this court ruling may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding rights for LGBTQ families.

The case involves Zoryan Kis, first secretary of Ukraine's Embassy in Israel, and his partner Tymur Levchuk, who have lived together since 2013 and were married in the U.S. in 2021.

The court ruled on June 10 that their relationship constitutes a de facto marriage, establishing them as a family under Ukrainian law.

The ruling comes after Ukraine's Foreign Ministry refused to acknowledge Levchuk as Kis' family member, denying him spousal rights to accompany Kis on his diplomatic posting to Israel. In response, the couple filed a legal complaint in September 2024.

In its decision, the court cited both the Ukrainian Constitution and precedents from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which requires states to ensure legal recognition and protection for same-sex families.

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Evidence considered by the court included shared finances, property, witness testimony, joint travel records, photographs, correspondence, and other documents establishing a long-term domestic partnership.

"A very big and important step toward marriage equality in Ukraine, and a small victory in our struggle for 'simple family happiness' for Ukrainian diplomats," Kis wrote on Facebook.

"Now we have a court ruling that confirms the feelings Tymur Levchuk and I have for each other," he added, thanking the judge who heard the case.

Public support for LGBTQ rights in Ukraine has grown in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. According to a 2024 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 70% of Ukrainians believe LGBTQ citizens should have equal rights.

Despite shifting public opinion, legislative progress remains slow. A draft law recognizing civil partnerships, introduced by Holos party lawmaker Inna Sovsun in March 2023, has not advanced in parliament due to a lack of approval from the Legal Policy Committee.

The proposed bill would legalize civil partnerships for both same-sex and heterosexual couples, offering them inheritance, medical, and property rights, but not the full status of marriage.

As Trump ‘loses interest’ in Ukraine, Kyiv scrambles to clarify extent of U.S. military aid pause

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration’s decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD rev

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

Ukraine’s Oschadbank won an appeal against Russia on July 1 after the Paris appeals court rejected Moscow’s challenge to a 2018 arbitration ruling ordering compensation for losses due to Russia's annexation of Crimea, the bank announced in a press release on July 3.

The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the November 2018 arbitration tribunal decision requiring Russia to compensate Oschadbank for damages incurred when Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

The ruling orders Russia to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages and an additional 300,000 euros ($330,000) in legal costs to Ukraine's largest state-owned bank, according to a press release.

"The victory proves that efforts to force the aggressor state to answer legally for damages caused by the occupation of part of Ukraine's territory have good prospects," said Rosa Tapanova, a member of Oschadbank's supervisory board.

Oschadbank Chairman Serhii Naumov said it's the first Ukrainian bank to win such a case against Russia.

The decision follows Oschadbank's recent seizure of over 87 million euros ($102 million) in Russian assets in France as part of its campaign to recover war-related losses. The bank has been pursuing Russian assets across multiple jurisdictions to enforce the arbitration award.

"We understand that the Russian Federation will never voluntarily comply with the court's decision, and we are prepared for a long struggle," said Arsen Miliutin, deputy chairman of Oschadbank's management board.

"At the same time, we are confident that we will win, and Russia will pay not only the amount of damages caused, but also interest for all this time."

The Oschadbank victory adds to a growing list of Ukrainian legal wins against Russia. On June 23, Naftogaz CEO Serhii Koretskyi announced that an international arbitration tribunal in Switzerland had ordered Russia's Gazprom to pay the Ukrainian state energy company $1.37 billion after the Russian firm stopped fulfilling contract obligations in May 2022.

As Trump ‘loses interest’ in Ukraine, Kyiv scrambles to clarify extent of U.S. military aid pause

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration’s decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD rev

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

Ukrainian President Zelensky must consider a petition to decriminalize pornography after it reached the required 25,000 signatures, according to data on the official Ukrainian government petitions website.

Pornography production and distribution are illegal in Ukraine, with broad interpretations meaning even sharing nude photos can result in jail time.

Despite being illegal, models on subscription-based site OnlyFans, known for being an adult content platform, must declare their income and pay taxes, as required for all paid content creators.

The decriminalization petition was created by Ukrainian OnlyFans model Svetlana Dvornikova, who argued that "law enforcement should focus on real crimes instead of conducting operations to buy intimate photos."

"Over five years, I've paid more than Hr 40 million ($958,062) in taxes to the state," Dvornikova wrote in the petition.

"But instead of gratitude for this money, the state opened a criminal case against me."

In January 2025, Ukraine's OnlyFans content creators declared more than $7 million in income, paying $1.5 million in personal income and military taxes, though it's unclear what specific content these users create on the platform.

Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who has initiated bills to legalize pornography, calculated that from 2020 to 2022, 5,000 Ukrainians earned $123 million on OnlyFans.

"Porn today is mostly online platforms, and those who earn on these platforms officially pay taxes. That's millions of dollars going to the armed forces," Zhelezniak said on his YouTube channel.

The latest bill to legalize pornography was registered in November 2024 and supported by parliament's law enforcement committee in December, but hasn't been brought to a vote yet.

The bill proposes decriminalizing only the creation and storage of pornographic content by consenting adults.

Criminal liability would still apply for revenge porn, deepfake porn, extreme porn, child pornography, and distribution to minors.

"We're simply changing Article 301 of the Criminal Code so that adults who film and distribute intimate videos aren't thrown in prison for 3-5 years," Zhelezniak wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Currently, under Article 301, you can be punished even for storing nude photos on your personal phone."

In July 2022, a similar petition to legalize pornography reached the required number of signatures. It didn't lead to changes, and Zelensky responded by citing existing laws about "protecting public morality."

Russia seizes Ukraine’s most valuable lithium deposits, but US minerals deal not at risk, investor says

Russian troops have taken over the site of one of Ukraine’s most valuable lithium deposits near the village of Shevchenko, Donetsk Oblast, as Russia ramps up its summer offensive. While Ukrainian troops control territories near the site, the deposit is now under Russian occupation, Roman Pohorilyi, founder of open-source

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk said on June 28 that Ukraine's parliament is preparing a draft bill to hold elections following the end of the martial law period enacted as a result of the war.

"We are working on this draft law, because for the next elections, a new special draft law is needed that will regulate the so-called post-war elections," Stefanchuk said on Ukraine's marathon TV broadcast.

"We are preparing various basic scenarios so that people can exercise their fundamental constitutional right to vote. And this must take place in Ukraine. And I believe we will be able to find the right legislative compromise," he added.

The reason for separate legislation on a post-war election, Stefanchuk previously said, was due to the fact that Ukraine's Constitution does not not provide clarity on the details of holding elections following the end of a martial law period.

No details on the bill or timeline for implementation were provided.

Russia's full-scale invasion and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Ukraine meant elections have been impossible to hold, and President Volodymyr Zelensky's term has been extended, something constitutional lawyers say is allowed under Ukrainian law.

Despite criticism, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed a resolution on Feb. 25 to hold elections after "a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace is secured" in the country.

While polling shows a vast majority of Ukrainian citizens do not support holding elections before a full peace deal, the lack of elections has stirred some controversy with Ukraine's allies.

At the start of his second term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to hold elections — something that Ukraine has thus far refused to do citing the difficulties of holding elections amid active warfare, as well as security implications.

Zelensky has previously said he is willing to step down in exchange for a peace agreement.

Russian propaganda has widely used the issue of elections in Ukraine to discredit the Ukrainian leadership. Mocow has repeatedly claimed that Zelensky is no longer a legitimate president, as his first term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.

Russia has amassed 111,000 troops near Pokrovsk, Syrskyi says

Pokrovsk remains the “hottest spot” along the front line but “the situation is under control” and Russia has not crossed the administrative border from Donetsk to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

The Kyiv IndependentAbbey Fenbert

Ukraine's parliament passed a reform of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) on June 18, a key step toward European integration and a condition listed in the EU's Ukraine Facility plan.

The legislation passed with the support of 253 lawmakers "after months of obstructions... unblocking 600 million euros ($690 million) in EU funds," lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.

The ARMA is Ukraine's national agency tasked with locating, recovering, and managing assets seized in criminal proceedings, namely during corruption cases.

Proposed reforms include stricter integrity and qualification standards for leadership candidates and merit-based hiring through open competitions involving civil society. They also call for independent external audits, clear deadlines for appointing asset managers, and the use of certified professionals held legally accountable for mismanagement.

The Ukraine Facility, an EU program providing Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($58 billion) in multi-year financial support contingent on reforms, set the end of March as the deadline for the ARMA's reform.

Anti-corruption experts, lawmakers, and Transparency International in Ukraine have backed the reforms, but discussions have dragged on for months since several versions of the bill were introduced in December 2024 and January.

The ARMA has long criticized the proposed legislation, arguing it had already carried out substantial and "transformative" reforms since 2023.

Transparency International reacted by saying that the ARMA's "public communication suggests that the agency’s primary concern is not the introduction of meaningful reforms, but ensuring that its current leadership can continue operating as it has."

Ukraine has embarked on extensive reforms as part of its efforts to join the EU and other Western structures, though Russia's full-scale invasion has presented fresh challenges to this effort.

Ukraine’s parliament passes bill on multiple citizenship

Ukraine’s parliament on June 18 supported a bill allowing Ukrainian citizens to hold passports of foreign countries, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Ukraine's parliament on June 18 supported a bill allowing Ukrainian citizens to hold passports of foreign countries, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.

The draft law, backed by 243 lawmakers in the second and final reading, outlines conditions for holding multiple citizenship and simplifies procedures for foreigners wanting to obtain Ukrainian passports.

The legislation must receive a presidential signature before entering force, largely a formality as President Volodymyr Zelensky himself submitted the bill last August.

Until now, the status of multiple citizenship has not been recognized by Ukrainian law.

The bill also establishes new grounds for losing citizenship, such as receiving a Russian passport or serving in the Russian Armed Forces.

The government will determine the list of countries whose citizens will be able to obtain Ukrainian passports in a simplified way, taking into account issues like EU membership or imposed sanctions in connection with Russian aggression.

Multiple citizenship will be recognized for foreigners from the listed countries who apply for Ukrainian citizenship, or if Ukrainian citizens apply for citizenship in these countries. It will also be recognized for Ukrainian spouses of foreign citizens and other specified cases.

Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia said the law is not applicable to Russian citizens or citizens of countries that do not recognize Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Even before the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian diaspora has been widespread around the world, with particularly large communities in the EU, the U.S., and Canada. The war drew millions more from their home, and 6.8 million Ukrainian refugees and asylum-seekers remain abroad as of 2025, according to U.N. data.

Among others, the bill is seen as part of Ukraine's effort to strengthen ties with Ukrainians living abroad. Zelensky said the document should allow ethnic Ukrainians born abroad to obtain citizenship.

The president included the step in his 10-point internal resilience plan last November.

Hungary’s soft power meets Ukraine’s hard reality in Zakarpattia

BEREHOVE, Zakarpattia Oblast — Thin gray smoke drifts beyond the patchwork of Soviet-era apartment blocks, historical buildings, and hillside vineyards that make up Berehove — the heart of the Hungarian community in Ukraine’s westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast. “That’s Hungary, over there,” gestures Vitalii Antipov, a member of the local council, toward the not-so-distant

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek