Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"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.
People cast their votes in Russia's illegal referendums at a hospital in the occupied territory in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 23, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The package proposes to introduce a price cap for Russian oil sold to third countries, which "will help reduce Russia's revenues on the one hand and it will keep global energy markets stable on the other hand," according to von der Leyen.
The Commission also proposes further import bans that will "deprive Russia of an additional 7 billion euros in revenues." The package is also set to extend the list of products banned from being exported to Russia, aiming "to deprive the Kremlin's military complex of key technologies," well as target new Russian individuals and entities.
In addition, the Commission introduces a new category of sanctions, aimed to step up the EU's efforts to crack down on circumvention of sanctions by targeting those individuals who circumvent them.
In her statement, von der Leyen condemned Moscow's sham referendums on joining Russia that were held in the occupied parts of four Ukrainian regions on Sept. 23-27. She also said that the mobilization in Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent threats to use nuclear weapons are "further steps on the escalation path."
"We do not accept the sham referendums nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay the price for this further escalation," the official said.
On Sept. 28, Russia declared a 98% secession support rate in illegal referendums held at gunpoint in the occupied territories in Ukraine.
Moscow is expected to use these "results" as a pretext to illegally annex parts of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as it did with Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
