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."
Latvia's President Edgars Rinkevics speaks during a news conference at Riga Castle in Riga, Latvia, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Russia's recent gains in Kharkiv Oblast are a direct consequence of Kyiv's partners not allowing strikes on military targets in Russian territory with Western-supplied arms, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told CNN on May 27.
TheU.S. and Germany, the top two providers of military aid to Ukraine, are against Kyiv using their weapons to strike Russian territory due to fears this would lead to an escalation of the war.
Ukraine has repeatedly said that the restrictions meant Ukraine was unable to attack Russian forces as they were building up before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblastin the renewed Russian offensive that began on May 10.
Russia's recent gains are "the consequence of our inability to provide Ukraine with weapons and then also putting restrictions to use those weapons to strike military targets in Russia," Rinkevics told CNN.
"We are not talking about cities or civilians, we are talking about legitimate military targets."
Rinkevics argued that Russia's ability to advance depends partly on the massive mobilization of its economy and its people, but also on the ability of the West "to fight back and support a country that is at war."
"If Ukraine loses, our security is going to be impacted in a very serious way," Rinkevics said.
"We don't want to see the repetition of the darkest moments of history, and my country has experienced those."
Earlier on May 27, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a declaration in support of NATO allies lifting restrictions that prohibit Ukraine's use of Western-supplied weapons against military targets inside Russia.
The declaration came a day after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany has given clear rules to Ukraine prohibiting the use of German weapons on Russian soil and that he sees no reason to change this.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
