Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin delivers a speech on Sept. 9, 2023 in Moscow. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian air defense units destroyed two drones flying towards Moscow overnight on March 17, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed.
Sobyanin said the drones were intercepted over the city's Domodedovo district. Preliminary reports indicate that there are no casualties.
Emergency services are at work at the crash site, he said.
Kyiv does not usually comment on reports of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian soil. A series of attacks on Russia's oil refineries over the past week represent an exception: the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) have taken credit for the strikes.
Ukraine has hit oil refineries in Russia's Samara, Ryazan, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, and Leningrad oblasts over the past week.
Another Russian refinery was allegedly hit the same night that Sobyanin reported drones over Moscow. A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Krasnodar Krai, according to Russian media. Eyewitnesses claimed over five drones struck the facility, and one worker was reportedly killed.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Katie Marie Davies
