The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
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Wednesday, May 14
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
The number includes 1,240 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
"Contrary to Kremlin narratives, time is not on Russia’s side," reads a new report from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).
Wednesday, May 14
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
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"Our people are going to be going there," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
The European Union is discussing a new sanctions mechanism aimed at third countries that are not doing enough to prevent Russia from bypassing restrictions already in place, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the issue.
The sanctions tool is aimed at deterring nations from helping Russia and cutting off trade channels that Moscow could potentially use, the people told the publication. The measures will likely focus on countries in central Asia and Russia’s immediate neighbors.
If the mechanism is ineffective, the next step will be targeted restrictions on key products, Bloomberg wrote.
In its upcoming sanctions package, the EU also reportedly plans to expand several existing export control measures and ban many goods transiting through Russia.
The 11th package since February 2022 will mainly concentrate on closing loopholes in imposed measures used by Russia to evade restrictions, in particular to import banned goods through third countries.
According to Bloomberg, Russian imports of goods such as semiconductors and integrated circuits from countries like Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and China have increased dramatically since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Cyprus freezes accounts used to bypass sanctions against Russia
Cyprus has frozen the accounts of 13 people who allegedly helped Russian oligarchs to bypass sanctions, Cypriot Finance Minister Pavlos Ioannou told public broadcaster CyBC.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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