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."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (R) welcomes Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba to give joint statements on the sidelines of a NATO - North Atlantic Council (NAC) Foreign Affairs ministers' meeting, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 4, 2023. (Photo credit: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a telephone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Ukraine's next steps on its path to the Alliance membership, Kuleba said on Aug. 29.
"We discussed the adapted Annual National Program and a full-fledged rollout of the Ukraine-NATO Council," the Ukrainian minister said.
While Ukraine did not receive the much-desired invitation to join NATO during the Vilnius summit in July, the Alliance agreed to tighten cooperation with Kyiv by launching the Ukraine-NATO Council as a consultation and coordination platform.
Following its inaugural session during the summit, the Council convened again on July 26 to discuss security in the Black Sea region after Russia's one-sided termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and increased Russian strikes against Ukrainian ports.
NATO leaders also consented that Ukraine may skip the Membership Action Plan, shortening the steps Kyiv has to take on its path to the accession.
According to Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, the membership progress will be measured according to the adapted Annual National Program (ANP), which is expected to be "very short."
The ANP should focus mainly on the military interoperability of Ukrainian and NATO forces and the implementation of NATO standards in the defense and security sectors, Stefanishyna said.
During the phone call, Kuleba also informed Stoltenberg of Ukraine's preparations for the first Defense Industries Forum. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said earlier that the event will likely take place in late September with the participation of around 50 important players in the arms market.
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.
Igor Kossov
