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 Crimean Tatar flag flies outside the Kyiv City State Administration building on Crimean Tatar Flag Day, on June 26, 2023. (Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Five judges working in Russian-occupied Crimea were found guilty of treason and sentenced in absentia to at least 12 years in prison, the Prosecutor's Office of Crimea reported on Oct. 30.
The judges were convicted of working with Russian occupying forces after the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea and presiding over legal actions taken against locals who opposed the occupation.
In particular, the judges illegally ruled against protesters who came out in support of the Crimean Tatar leader and Ukrainian politician Mustafa Dzhemiliev, whom Russian occupying forces banned from entering the peninsula. The protesters received administrative punishments.
Through actions such as these, the judges "contributed to the establishment and strengthening of the occupying power" in Crimea.
Russia has cracked down on Crimean Tatars, banning the Mejlis, their representative body, and jailing activists and political leaders.
Ukrainian courts have routinely sentenced both Russians and Ukrainian collaborators in absentia for their role in crimes committed in Ukraine.
Tamila Tasheva, the permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, said in January 2023 that investigating and punishing collaborators should be one of the Ukrainian government's top priorities once the peninsula is liberated.
She emphasized that this should only apply to those who actively collaborated, not those who simply continued living under occupation and may have continued to work in some form for the occupying authorities, such as low-level administrators or public servants.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Anastasiia Lapatina
