"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.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
Former U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans James Heappey on June 1, 2023 in Shepton Mallet, England. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Ukraine needs more aid packages to avoid defeat, which "would cost the West trillions in a new Cold War," the former British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said in an April 28 interview with The Telegraph.
After months of political infighting and a deteriorating situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed the crucial foreign aid package on April 20, which includes $60.84 billion for Ukraine.
On April 24, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the foreign aid bill, marking the final step of the long and often stalled legislative process.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on April 23 a 500-million-pound ($617 million) uplift in military support for Ukraine, largest military aid package from the country to date.
Sunak also pledged to supply Ukraine with hundreds of armored vehicles, 60 boats, and four million rounds of small-arms ammunition.
Heappey said that Kyiv will need more aid packages like those unveiled last week to win the battle for "security across the whole European-Atlantic region."
"A stalemate or, heaven forbid, a Ukrainian defeat promises a new Cold War that will last for decades and cost trillions of dollars more," Heappey added.
The former British Armed Forces minister believes that the latest military aid supplies will not "immediately balance the situation" on the front line but will allow Ukrainians to start "a final offensive that brings a quick and complete victory."
Heappey said that Ukrainian forces will not be ready to defeat Russia until 2025 or even 2026.
While aid stalled amid months of political infighting, Russia took advantage of Ukraine's growing battlefield ammunition shortages, capturing the city of Avdiivka in February.
The lack of air defense systems has also become urgent for Kyiv as Russian troops continue to intensify attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In April, Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said it needed at least $350 million to recover the lost capacity caused by Russia's attacks on thermal power plants.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Martin Fornusek
