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."
The ceremony of raising the national flag during the celebration of the Constitution Day of Ukraine, June 28, 2023. (Photo credit: Pavlo Palamarchuk/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Around one-third of the state budget for 2023 so far – almost Hr 520 billion ($14 billion) – has been used for military personnel expenditures, Ukraine's Finance Ministry said on Aug. 16., referencing data from the State Treasury Service.
For the first seven months of 2023, the total expenditures of the state amounted to Hr 1.64 trillion ($44.4 billion), with Hr 231.8 billion ($6.3 billion) spent in July.
Other military expenses included Hr 276.9 billion ($7.5 billion) on military equipment, weapons, ammunition, and other supplies for the armed forces.
Significant portions of the budget have also been allocated to goods and services (24.8% of the total expenditures) and social support payments (18.6%).
Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said on Aug. 9 that Ukraine is going to need at least $42 billion in foreign financial support next year due to high defense and security expenses.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine intends to spend Hr 1.8 trillion (about $48 billion) from the state budget on defense and security forces in 2023.
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.
Martin Fornusek
