U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
President Volodymyr Zelensky (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) pose for a family photo at an event hosted by Biden with world leaders launching a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukrainian Recovery and Reconstruction on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations on Sept. 25, 2024 in New York, U.S. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Editor's Note: The original article referred to the $20 billion as aid, without specifying that it was part of the $50 billion loan agreed by the Group of Seven (G7)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to press outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden to release a $20 billion loan for Ukraine during next week’s G20 summit in Brazil, the Telegraph reported on Nov. 12.
The loan is part of the Group of Seven (G7) has reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with approximately $50 billion in loans backed by the revenue from foreign Russian assets, the G7 announced on Oct. 25.
The United States will contribute the bulk of the loan with $20 billion in assistance. The U.S. is closely followed by European Union countries, including France, Germany, and Italy, with a combined $19.4 billion. The remaining approximately $10 billion will be divvied up with Canada providing $3.7 billion, Japan providing $3.07 billion, and the U.K. providing $2.9 billion in loan funding.
This would be the latest part of European power’s attempt to persuade Biden to step up help to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office in January, including allowing Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia’s territory with Western-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
The U.K. prime minister will also press for a one-on-one discussion with Biden during the G20 summit, according to the Telegraph.
Starmer also met and released a joint statement on Nov. 11. with French President Emmanuel Macron "stressing their determination to support Ukraine unwaveringly and for as long as necessary to thwart Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine."
The two leaders will meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk soon, as the trio attempts to “Trump-proof” the Western bloc’s aid to Ukraine in case the incoming U.S. president decides to radically cut aid for Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly promised to end the war "in 24 hours,” and though he hasn't yet elaborated a plan, it is largely expected to involve Ukraine ceding land to Russia.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio is expected to become the US next chief diplomat, who said on air shortly after Trump’s victory that Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has reached a "stalemate" and "needs to be brought to a conclusion.”
He also voted against the U.S’ $61 billion aid package for Ukraine in April 2024.
Boldizsar is a former Reuters correspondent for Hungary, currently based in Kharkiv, reporting for the Kyiv Independent and various other outlets. He holds degrees in political science, philosophy, and development policy.
Boldizsar Gyori
