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.
Ukraine has launched an official account on Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming platform, on Dec. 20, 2021. The project is aimed to promote contemporary Ukrainian music and culture. (Courtesy)
Ukraine has launched its official account on Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming platform, on Dec. 20.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has partnered with the Ukrainian Institute and Slukh, an online media outlet covering music, for this cultural diplomacy project.
“It was created to promote a positive image of Ukraine among foreign audiences through contemporary Ukrainian music in English and Ukrainian,” Slukh wrote on Dec. 20.
The account is called Ukraine.ua. It now offers six playlists themed by moods “that everyone can relate to,” such as inspiration, joy, sadness, motivation.
The playlists feature songs by the giants of the Ukrainian music scene such as rock band Okean Elzy and electronic group Onuka. There are also little-known gems that can be discovered by local and foreign audiences including electronic music DJ and producer Koloah and sexy indie pop band Latexfauna.
The account is aimed to promote not only contemporary Ukrainian music but local culture in general.
The “If you feel glad” playlist is accompanied by a photo of traditional Ukrainian beetroot soup borsch. According to Slukh, the photo symbolizes the happy feeling one experiences when their borsch turns out to be of rich red color.
The “If you feel blue” playlist’s cover image portrays famous Ukrainian cat Stepan, whose chill and relatable looks won him global fame online. Stepan has gone viral after his photos were reposted by pop icon Britney Spears in late November.
Ukraine has invested more money and effort into promoting itself as a tourist and cultural destination over the recent years. In 2018, it developed a modern brand for campaigning that includes the “Ukraine NOW” slogan.
Aside from Spotify, the country now has official Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Spotify is a Swedish company that dominates the international audio streaming market with 381 million users including 172 million paid subscribers.
Toma Istomina is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked for the Kyiv Post from 2017-2021, first as a staff writer, later taking editor roles. For co-founding the Kyiv Independent, Toma was selected as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2022. She holds a master’s in international broadcasting from Taras Shevchenko University.
