"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.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 28, 2024. (Maryam Majd/Getty Images)
Europe must be more prepared for the U.S. to fail to support Ukraine, regardless of whether Donald Trump is elected president, German Defense Committee Chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told German news outlet t-online on Feb. 8.
Since fall 2023, partisan infighting has stalled a supplemental funding bill that includes $60 billion in aid for Ukraine.
A procedural vote on a bill that includes Ukraine aid, funds for Israel, and changes to U.S. border policy failed to get enough votes in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 7. Senators previously warned that despite months of bipartisan negotiations, the border security deal had no chance of passing in the Feb. 7 vote due to Republican opposition.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in response to the news that he never thought he would "see something like we are seeing now," blaming Trump for "threatening" lawmakers if they supported the package, CNN reported.
"The U.S. Senate's decision is more than regrettable, but unfortunately cannot be a surprise," Strack-Zimmermann, an MP for the Free Democratic Party, told t-online.
"Europe must be aware that the U.S. could fail to support Ukraine in the future, regardless of the outcome of the election in November."
Strack-Zimmermann also criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who previously held the position of German defense minister.
Strack-Zimmermann described it as "astonishing" that von der Leyen "did not put this scenario on the Commission's table and that Europe is now staring at the USA unprepared."
According to Strack-Zimmermann, Berlin must now "take on the leadership role that is expected of Germany in supporting Ukraine, but which has so far been ignored, especially by the Chancellor," Olaf Scholz.
"We must all be aware that if Ukraine is not successful, peace and freedom throughout Europe are at risk," Strack-Zimmermann said.
Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael Roth described the blockade as "just a first foretaste of what could happen if Donald Trump is re-elected to the White House in November."
Trump's re-election would mean that "Europe's security would then no longer be guaranteed from one day to the next," said Roth, who is an MP for Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party.
Regardless of whether Trump is the next U.S. president, "we Europeans must finally take on more responsibility to contain and stop Russian imperialism," Roth said.
Trump is currently ahead in the polls to become the Republican nominee for the U.S. presidential election in November 2024.
Martin Fornusek
