Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
The EU flag and the Ukrainian flag fly together by the Tower of the British Parliament as part of a pro-EU demonstration in London on Nov. 15, 2023. (Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
EU ambassadors have agreed in principle on 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in defense assistance for Ukraine in 2024 within the framework of the European Peace Facility (EPF), the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council said on March 13.
The EPF has been a key tool for supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities since 2022 but has been largely depleted as member states disagreed on the best way to replenish it and unlock further cash for Ukraine.
"The (European Union) remains determined to provide lasting support to (Ukraine) & ensure that the country gets the military equipment it needs to defend itself," the Belgian presidency said on social media.
The funds to purchase military supplies for Ukraine will be disbursed via the Ukraine Assistance Fund, a newly created tool under the EPF.
The Financial Times reported on March 12 that EU member states are near the deal on additional funds for Ukraine's defense. According to the outlet, the agreement will prioritize weapons produced inside the EU but will not exclude those manufactured outside the bloc.
Larger states contributing to the EPF have previously complained that smaller countries with stockpiles of Soviet-era equipment sent outdated military gear to Ukraine and used the reimbursements to modernize their own arsenals.
The FT reported in February that countries like Germany and France want to phase out the reimbursement model this year and instead focus EU funds directly on arms contracts within the continent.
Foreign arms supplies are now critical for Ukraine as assistance from the U.S., a key military donor, has been stalled for months by domestic political infighting.
Martin Fornusek
