"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"We cannot allow NATO's military infrastructure to get that close to our borders," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the men killed the other before taking his own life.
Western leaders dismissed the Kremlin's proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15 as insufficient.
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 pope said he was praying to God to grant the world the "miracle of peace."
Ushakov’s comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 11 invitation for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul starting May 15.
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.
Zelensky called a ceasefire the essential first step toward ending the war.
Hungary seeks removal of eight names from EU Russia sanctions list, Reuters reports
Hungary is demanding the removal of eight individuals from the EU's Russia sanctions list and guarantees on Ukraine's gas transit talks before agreeing to renew restrictions, Reuters reported on Feb. 25, citing sources familiar with the matter.
EU sanctions against Russia must be renewed unanimously every six months, and Budapest has repeatedly used the process to negotiate concessions for itself.
Hungary has previously secured exemptions for Moscow Patriarch Kirill and domestic use of Russian oil products. Kirill, a close Kremlin ally, has publicly supported Russia's war against Ukraine, yet Budapest has blocked EU efforts to sanction him.
The source declined to disclose the names of the individuals Hungary wants removed from the sanctions list.
Earlier on Feb. 19, EU ambassadors agreed on a new package of sanctions, targeting Russia's aluminum trade and the "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.
The EU's sanctions framework consists of economic measures and a list of over 2,400 individuals and entities subject to asset freezes and travel bans.
Hungary's demand to hold gas transit talks with Ukraine is related to Kyiv's decision to not extend an agreement with Russia, which ensured a gas transit to Europe. As the agreement expired on Jan. 1, Kyiv said it would not finance Russia's war by allowing the transit going forward.
While the EU has reduced reliance on Russian fossil fuels, Hungary and Slovakia remain dependent on Russian gas. Budapest imports around 4.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually under a 15-year agreement signed in 2021.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, meeting with him and amplifying pro-Russian narratives in Europe.
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