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."
Latvian farmers with signs that read "Against Russian grain products" demonstrate against the import of Russian and Belarusian grain in Jelgava, Latvia, on Feb. 5, 2024. (Gints Ivuskans/AFP via Getty Images)
The Latvian government on March 5 approved a list of Russian and Belarusian agricultural and food products that will be banned from importing into the country starting March 8.
The Baltic country's parliament voted to ban the imports on Feb. 22 in the wake of farmers' protests against the influx of agricultural goods originating in Russia or Belarus.
The ban will apply to vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, cereals, raw materials for fodder, and ready-made fodder. The restrictions will also apply to products of Russian or Belarusian origin coming from third-party countries.
"As a country bordering Russia, Latvia is trying to find the fastest way possible to sever economic ties with the aggressor country," the Latvian government's statement read.
"This Latvian initiative to ban the import of agricultural and fodder products from Russia and Belarus... is an additional element to the common EU sanctions policy."
Russian agricultural products sparked tensions not only in Latvia but also in other EU countries supporting Ukraine against Moscow's aggression.
Lithuanian farmers complained that the volume of Russian goods has risen sharply in recent years, destabilizing markets across the EU.
"These are impressive figures, with over 3 million tons of Russian grain having passed through Latvia and Lithuania combined in 2023," said Ausrys Macijauskas, the head of the Lithuania Association of Grain Growers.
"In total, 12 million tones of Russian grain were imported into the EU market last year."
According to Eurostat, EU purchases of Russian grain in 2023 increased by 22% per month and 10 times per year.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on March 4 that Warsaw plans to ask Brussels to impose sanctions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products and foodstuffs. Warsaw has complained about the influx of grain not only from these two countries but also from Ukraine.
Several key agricultural products from Ukraine, such as grain, corn, and rapeseed, have been banned from importing into Poland, but the continued flow of Ukrainian goods into the EU has led to widespread protests by Polish farmers.
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.
Elsa Court
