"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.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks while visiting with wounded Ukrainian soldiers at the Staten Island University Hospital in New York City on Sept. 18, 2023. (Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky may visit Armenia in “the near future,” as relations between Kyiv and Yerevan warm up, the Armenian news outlet FactorTV reported on Feb. 23.
Preparations for the visit are currently underway, but the exact date has not yet been confirmed, the outlet reported, citing its sources.
Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Armenia Valeri Lobach neither confirmed nor denied plans for a visit were in the works in response to FactorTV, instead hinting that Zelensky is preparing to come to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.
"I can only say that spring will bring many positive events to Armenia,” Lobach told the outlet.
Once a long time-ally of Russia, especially vis-a-vis its primary regional foe Azerbaijan, Armenia has largely refrained from getting involved in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The calculus changed after Russian "peacekeepers" failed to prevent Azerbaijan's offensive into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, in September 2023.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Feb. 1 that Armenia's defense strategy cannot rely on Russia as it used to, and that Yerevan needed to more closely examine its security relations with the U.S., France, India, and other countries.
Lobach also told FactorTV that “Ukraine is ready to support Armenia,” and “will do everything for the regulation and stabilization of the region."
Zelensky met Pashinyan for the first time in October 2023 during his visit to Spain for the European Political Community Summit in Granada. The two discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus, bilateral cooperation, and interregional economic projects, Zelensky said at the time.
Armenia delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in September of last year. Later in February 2024, representatives of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine and the Armenian Embassy in Ukraine delivered 10 tons of medical equipment to one of Ukraine's main military hospitals.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Francis Farrell
