President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
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.
A photograph shows the Utrenneye field, the resource base for Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project, located in the Gydan Peninsula on the Kara Sea shore line in the Arctic circle, some 2500 km from Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 30, 2021. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
Finland plans to ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) from next year, Finnish Environment and Climate Minister Kai Mykkanen told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on Jan. 5.
Fossil fuel profits constitute a substantial portion of Russia's economy, helping fund its war against Ukraine. Mykkanen announced in November that Finland was aiming to ban Russian LNG but was awaiting a new package of European Union gas market legislation.
The EU reached a deal on Dec. 8 that allowed individual countries to effectively ban Russian shipments of LNG.
The EU has not imposed sanctions on Russian LNG, and EU nations bought record amounts of LNG from Russia in 2023.
One issue is that some European companies have long-term contracts with Russian companies, meaning that stopping imports would require paying compensation to Russia.
The new EU proposal therefore permits a ban on Russian and Belarusian companies buying capacities in European gas pipelines and LNG terminals, allowing European energy firms to leave contracts with Russian suppliers without paying cancellation fees.
Some countries, such as the U.K., Latvia, and Lithuania, have already stopped buying LNG from Russia. According to Mykkanen, the EU ruling makes an import ban for Finland more straightforward.
"I don't want to promise any specific date, but hopefully next year we will be in such a situation that the ban will be in effect," Mykkanen said.
Russia delivered nearly 16 million tons of LNG to Europe last year, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Elsa Court
