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."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives to hold talks with members of the foreign press on September 12, 2023 at the Chancellery in Berlin. (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
A group of three German MPs have sent a letter to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to demand the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Sept. 14.
The MPs argue that Ukraine needs the German long-range missiles to "specifically weaken Russian war logistics" amidst the ongoing counteroffensive.
The letter was written by Andreas Schwarz from Scholz's own Social Democratic Party, Anton Hofreiter from the Greens, and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the Free Democrats Party.
All three parties make up the current governing coalition in the Bundestag, the German parliament. Strack-Zimmermann is the head of the parliament's defense committee.
Ukraine submitted a request to Germany for Taurus missiles in May.
"The freedom of Ukraine is also the freedom of Europe," and the more time the German government spends "assessing" the situation, "the more people die," Strack-Zimmermann commented on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The letter emphasized that Kyiv "has assured us in personal discussions that this weapons system will be used exclusively on Ukrainian territory."
"We see no reason to doubt this commitment," the MPs wrote.
Media reports emerged over the summer that the German government is hesitant to deliver the air-launched missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometers, due to concerns that they will be used in strikes on Russian territory.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized in August that Taurus missiles would be "used solely inside our borders."
There are currently 600 Taurus missiles stored in German military depots, Der Speigel reported.
Elsa Court
