Martin Fornusek

Metropolitan Hilarion's car was stopped by Czech police officers on May 24. During a subsequent search, "four small containers with a white substance were found in the trunk," according to Hilarion's Telegram channel.

Russia said it would appeal to the International Court of Justice over alleged discrimination against Russian communities in the Baltic states. Estonia dismissed the move as "a continuation of the disinformation campaign against the Baltic states," according to a statement provided to the Kyiv Independent.

The legislation enables the Russian president to order troop deployments abroad to "protect" Russian citizens facing arrest, detention, trial, or other perceived persecution by foreign nations and international courts.

As Ukraine expands its long-range drone campaign deep inside Russia, Moscow appears to have found a way to turn some of those attacks into a problem for Kyiv.

The Kyiv Independent's Martin Fornusek speaks with Kaupo Rosin, director general of Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service, about Russia's long-term strategy against Ukraine and Europe, the risks facing NATO's eastern flank, and why Moscow still views the United States as its main adversary.

Soon after taking office, Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar appeared ready to normalize bilateral relations with Ukraine.Soon, however, the newly elected prime minister played his predecessor's tune, declaring that the Hungarian minority in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast "lacks basic rights," and complaining that its linguistic and cultural freedoms are being curtailed.Magyar signaled he would obstruct the launch of Ukraine's formal EU accession talks until the issue is resolved — potentia

The next step on Ukraine and Moldova's EU accession path could happen slightly earlier than expected, with EU and national diplomats confirming to the Kyiv Independent that everybody is working towards June 15 as the day to open the first of six so-called "enlargement clusters."

Moscow has sought to deflect blame after Bucharest said a Russian Shahed-type drone injured two civilians in the Romanian city of Galati.

Far-right opposition MP Krzysztof Bosak also said that Warsaw should stop paying for Starlink satellite communications systems used by Ukraine and opt out of EU loans to Kyiv in order to "exert real pressure."

If an agreement is reached at the "technical-level" talks, Peter Magyar said he is ready to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky as early as next week.