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."
President Volodymyr Zelensky, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, during a visit to a military base in Soesterberg, Netherlands, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Photographer: Peter Boer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Reuters in a June 12 interview published on June 12 that the Netherlands and other allies were hoping to start F-16 fighter jet training for Ukrainian pilots this summer.
In May the U.S. and several European countries agreed to build an international coalition to help procure F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine and train Ukrainian fighter pilots.
"This summer is our ambition. And we'll see if that's realistic," Ollongren said, adding that the program would ideally be fully operational within six months.
The training program, which has been backed by the U.S., also includes Belgium and Luxembourg. France and the U.K. have also offered their assistance, Ollongren added.
According to the defense minister, Denmark is one possible location for the training program given that F-16 flight simulators are located there.
"It is a very strong weapons system. It's a very strong capability. But it's not going to be available anytime soon and President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, of course, knows that," Ollongren said.
Ukraine's allies are hoping that supplying weapons like more advanced fighter jets will not only bolster Ukraine's chances of victory in the war against Russia but also discourage any future aggression from Russia.
Two anonymous sources told Reuters that the training program is set to commence with two groups, each consisting of 12 Ukrainian pilots who already possess experience in operating MiG-29 fighter jets.
However, Ollongren did not share any such details on the potential size and scope of the training program.
Ukraine has received 14 MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and 13 from Slovakiabut has been pushing for more advanced aircraft. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has previously said that it requires at least 48 F-16 fighter jets to liberate territory from Russia.
During a press conference in late May, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands was "seriously considering" giving F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Kate Tsurkan is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent who writes mostly about culture-related topics in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Her newsletter Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan, which focuses specifically on Ukrainian culture, is published weekly by the Kyiv Independent. The U.S. publisher Deep Vellum published her co-translation of Ukrainian author Oleh Sentsov’s Diary of a Hunger Striker in 2024. Some of her other writing and translations have appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Harpers, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine.
The Kyiv Independent
