This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
Polish farmers with tractors and vehicles block roads during a demonstration against the import of Ukrainian grain in Sulechow, Poland, on Feb. 20, 2024. (Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Polish protesters have temporarily suspended the blockade of the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border in both directions, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said on March 28, citing information from the Polish side.
Polish farmers began blocking trucksat several border crossings in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal.
"Passage of this transport category (trucks) is carried out in the usual mode. Some 120 trucks are waiting to cross the border at this checkpoint," the Border Guard Service said around 1 p.m. local time.
The fluent movement of trucks is expected to last until April 2.
As of the morning of March 28, 370 trucks were waiting in line at the border crossings of Yahodin-Dorohusk, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv, Ukrinform reported.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal arrived in Poland on March 28to discuss the issue of the agricultural trade and the border with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk.
The two officials agreed to search for "mutually satisfactory solutions," such as a verification and control system for trade in agricultural goods.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
