U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
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."
Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, during an interview with the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the Ludwig Erhard Summit at Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany on April 19, 2024. (Peter Kneffel/Getty Images)
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, told the BBC in an interview she would run for president if she is able to return to a post-Putin Russia.
"I will participate in the elections… as a candidate" when the time is right, Navalnaya told the BBC in an interview published on Oct. 21.
Navalnaya said that she aims to "bring closer and make change in the country possible" without going into further details, but added that she is not "a magician and does not know the secret" of bringing about immediate change in Russia.
"If you can't do something big right away, do something small every day, and the more people do that, the sooner it will be time for change," she said.
Navalnaya said her return to Moscow is "unfortunately impossible" as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in office.
She currently lives abroad and did not attend the funeral of her husband, Alexei, which took place on March 3, in fear of being arrested.
In July, a court in Moscow ordered the arrest in absentia of Navalnaya on charges of "participating in an extremist organization." The charges mean that if she were to return to Russia she would face jail time, similar to her late husband.
Alexei Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after being hospitalized in Germany following an attempt on his life, and was immediately detained. He died in on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in Russia after being convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent. Leaders around the world have blamed Putin for his death.
Following the death of her husband, Navalnaya entered more into the public spotlight. She has accused Putin of murdering her husband and vowed to continue Navalny's work.
Navalny's memoir "Patriot," compiled from the Russian opposition leader's prison diaries and edited in part by his widow, Yuliya, will be published posthumously on Oct. 22.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Oleg Sukhov
