Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
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.
Russian military personnel arrive to participate in the Victory Day parade held at Moscow's Red Square on May 9, 2023. (Photo credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia spent $167 billion on the full-scale invasion, with Ukraine destroying around $34 billion worth of Russian equipment as of Aug. 24, Forbes reported, based on data published by the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
This figure doesn't include Russia's defense spending that isn't tied to the war, nor Russia's economic losses as a result of multiple international sanctions.
The greatest expenditures go towards army supply, which costs $51.3 billion. Military salaries cost $35.1 billion, and compensation to the families of the fallen - $21 billion.
After the ruble depreciated against foreign currency, per-soldier budget expenses have gone down significantly from $200 per day to $120 per day, according to Forbes.
This is because the lion's share of Russia's budget is filled with oil and gas revenues. Russia continues to supply hydrocarbons to other countries, including EU member states.
Even so, this might not be enough to compensate for soaring expenses, Forbes reported, citing Reuters data.
According to Reuters, Russia spent almost 5.6 trillion rubles on defense in the first half of 2023, which already exceeds Russia's entire planned 2023 federal defense budget.
Moscow had to double the defense budget to nearly 10 trillion rubles ($105 billion) or a third of the entire 2023 budget.
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Igor Kossov
