"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
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.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas at the European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL) in Luxembourg City on April 14, 2025. (John Thys / AFP via Getty Images)
The European Union will never recognize the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula as legally Russian, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on April 22.
Kallas' comments come in response to reports that the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory is being considered as part of a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
"It means a lot for the ones who are occupied that others don't recognize this as Russian."
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, occupying the peninsula with troops and staging sham referendums to justify the seizure of territory. The move was widely condemned as a violation of international law. Kallas said it would be a mistake to reward Moscow's land grab by including recognition of Crimea as part of a ceasefire deal.
"Then Russia clearly gets what they want," she said.
Kallas said Washington should instead look to mount pressure on Moscow, rather than ceding to Kremlin demands.
"They have tools in their hands to use, actually, to pressure Russia. They haven't used those tools," she said.
"If they are now walking away without using the tools that they have actually in their hands, then my big question mark is, why? Why aren't they using the tools to really end this war?"
While Europe has largely been shut out of the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, talks in Paris on April 17 brought Europe back to the table. U.S. delegates reportedly unveiled their ceasefire proposal during the Paris talks — and are expecting a response from Ukraine during follow-up talks in London on April 23.
Representatives from Ukraine, the U.K., France, and the U.S. will convene in London to continue discussions.
"There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," Zelensky said on April 22.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Kate Tsurkan
