"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.
"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.
Soldiers of the 47th Mechanized Brigade in Zaporizhzhia Oblast with an M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, which has destroyed two Russian tanks in battle, July 18, 2023. (Source: Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar/Telegram)
Ukrainian forces advanced in the Mala Tokmachka-Novopokrovka and Velyka Novosilka-Urozhaine directions on the southern front line, spokesperson of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrii Kovalovreported on July 18.
Ukrainian troops are solidifying newly taken positions in the two sectors, the report said.
The General Staff also reported offensive operations north of and south of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.
"The enemy is putting up strong resistance, heavy fighting is going on," Kovalov said.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said that Russia is deploying its reserves in the Bakhmut direction.
"The situation is difficult but under control," Syrskyi commented.
The general also said that Russian forces are concentrating in the Kupiansk direction, where Ukrainian troops are holding defensive positions.
Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Eastern Military Command, reported on July 17 that Russia is concentrating over 100,000 soldiers, 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems, and 370 multiple-launch rocket systems in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction.
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.
Elsa Court
