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.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Representatives of NATO members and partners during a ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 14, 2024. (French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu/X)
According to NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, Ukraine will definitely join NATO in the future, so long as political conditions are met.
“Ukraine is getting closer to NATO almost every day,” he said. “I cannot say when, but I know that Ukraine will be part of the Euro-Atlantic family.”
Preconditions for Ukraine to join the organization include having a “robust military, democracy, and economy.”
Geoana reaffirmed the harmony among the 32 member states in their decision-making, even amidst uncertainties surrounding Hungary and Slovakia’s positions, given their leaders’ recent hesitations to provide weapons and aid to Ukraine.
“Of course, you see nuances from allies, but we do not see major differences in terms of continuing supporting Ukraine or investing in our own defense,” Geoana said. “We are dealing with the most precious thing which is national security and defense of the nation.”
Ukraine formally applied to join NATO in September 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this during a video address on September 3o 2022, and he claimed that Ukraine should be a candidate for fast-track accession.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
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