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."
Illustrative purposes only: Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov (L) chats with Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur at the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on Sept. 19, 2023, in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur announced a defense aid package for Ukraine worth 20 million euros ($22 million) during his visit to Kyiv on March 21, the Estonian Defense Ministry announced.
"The package includes recoilless anti-tank guns, explosives, various types of artillery ammunition, gas masks, sniper equipment, smaller caliber ammunition, and more," Pevkur said.
Artillery shells are a crucial capability for Ukraine as the country faces critical ammunition shortages, namely due to delays in U.S. assistance.
"We put this package together, focussing on providing the maximum benefit to Ukraine while making sure not to diminish Estonian defense readiness," the Estonian defense minister said.
The tranche includes 155 mm shells, donated as Tallinn's contribution to the EU's plan to supply Kyiv with 1 million rounds. Their exact number is confidential. According to the Estonian Defense Ministry, Denmark will partially finance the replenishment of this donation.
In a separate initiative, Czechia is collecting funds for the purchase of 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine from suppliers outside the EU.
Pevkur said that during his visit to Ukraine's capital, he met his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov.
"The overview that Defense Minister Umerov gave us about the situation on the battlefield confirmed that this package is very much needed," Pevkur noted.
The Baltic country, with a population of 1.3 million, is one of the leading military donors to Ukraine in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) shares, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Over the next four years, Tallinn plans to allocate 0.25% of its GDP to military assistance for Kyiv. The country's previous aid included Javelin anti-tank missiles, howitzers, artillery ammunition, anti-tank mines, anti-tank grenade launchers, and more.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
