The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
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Wednesday, May 14
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
The number includes 1,240 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
"Contrary to Kremlin narratives, time is not on Russia’s side," reads a new report from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).
Wednesday, May 14
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
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"Our people are going to be going there," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Officials from the U.S. and Europe say the Biden administration is debating whether to arm Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, the New York Times reports.
The Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as "attack 'ems," are surfact-to-surface guided cruise missiles with a range of over 300 kilometers.
President Zelensky has petitioned the Biden administration for the weapons in the past, describing the missiles as vital to defeat "Russian terror." The U.S. has refused to provide ATACMS, arguing that missiles that can reach Russia or occupied Crimea would represent a dangerous escalation in the ongoing war.
However, at the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11, France pledged to supply Ukraine with long-range SCALP missiles, which can travel 250 kilometers. The French weapons system is equivalent to the British Storm Shadow, which the U.K. delivered to Ukraine in May 2023.
"In light of the situation and the counteroffensive being conducted in Ukraine, I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment and to provide the Ukrainians with deep-strike capabilities," French President Emmanuel Macron announced in Vilnius.
Now, the U.S. is also considering following suit, officials told the New York Times. Sending ATACMS, which have an even longer range than SCALP missiles, could tip the scales for Ukrainian forces as they wage a grueling counteroffensive in Russian-controlled territory.
U.S. defense officials warn that their ATACMS arsenal is relatively low, and that sending the weapons to Ukraine could jeopardize U.S. security interests in other areas of the world.
The Biden administration has reversed its stance on weapons donations to Ukraine before. Last week, the U.S. agreed to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions after previously refusing.
As production of ammunitions for Ukrainian defense stalls, ATACMS and other long-range weapons systems represent a way for Ukrainian forces to advance in regions where occupying Russian forces hold strong defensive positions.
Former NATO envoy to Moscow: ‘Potential escalation with Russia is a myth’
The West failed to understand the Russian regime before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Robert Pszczel, the former NATO envoy to Moscow from 2010-2015, said on the sidelines of the Warsaw International Summit in Kyiv on July 7. Once the punching bag of Russian propagandists during his appearances on…
Alexander Query
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