The Hungarian tax authority has just confirmed it detained seven people and two cash-in-transit vehicles coming from Austria towards Ukraine, saying it is pursuing criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering. The contents of their transit has also been confirmed as per earlier statement by Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank. But the authority pointedly said that one of the seven men arrested was a former general of the Ukrainian intelligence services.
One could attribute Russian attempts at hacking and influencing the 2016 general election to retaliation for the CIA's involvement in Ukraine, or to a personal vendetta against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with regard to Ukraine ahead of the Maidan revolt, or to rousing anti-Putin sentiment in Russia: ... Five years ago, he blamed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square. "She set the tone for some of our actors in the country and gave the signal," Putin said. "They heard this and, with the support of the U.S. State Department, began active work." (No evidence was provided for the accusation.) ...
Ukrainian officials have left for Geneva, Switzerland, where another round of negotiations aimed at ending the war with Russia is set to take place. On the way to Geneva. The next round of negotiations is ahead. Along the way, we will discuss the lessons of our history with our colleagues, seek the right conclusions, Ukraine's Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov posted on his Telegram channel on Monday,
Ukraine does not shy away from the most difficult issues and will never be an obstacle to peace, Zelenskyy insisted, repeating a mantra designed to ward off accusations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump that Ukraine is not serious about ending the conflict. Peace must be dignified, he added. And this depends on the partners on whether they ensure Russia's real readiness to end the war.
We will move to elections when all the necessary security guarantees are in place, the Ukrainian president told reporters on Wednesday in a voice note. I have said it's very simple to do: establish a ceasefire, and there will be elections. He also said that if Russia agreed, it might be possible to end hostilities by summer.
