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.
The United Nations has expressed concern over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to withdraw from the New START treaty, which is aimed at the reduction of states’ nuclear arsenals.
“A world without nuclear arms control is a far more dangerous, unstable one, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, as reported by Sky News.
“Every effort should be taken to avoid this outcome, including an immediate return to dialogue,” he said.
Putin announced that Russia would be withdrawing from the New START treaty in his address to the Russian parliament on Feb. 21.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010 in Prague, is an agreement between the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals. The treaty imposes limits on the size and makeup of the nuclear stockpiles of both nations. This treaty has been the only remaining arms control agreement between the two countries.
Putin attempted to justify this decision by claiming that "the goal of the West is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, to end us once and for all. We will respond accordingly because we are talking about the existence of our country."
In response to Putin's speech, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that "Nobody is attacking Russia. There’s a kind of absurdity in the notion that Russia was under some form of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START treaty during a joint press conference on Feb. 21 with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell.
"With today’s decision on New START, the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled," Stoltenberg said. "I strongly encourage Russia to reconsider its decision and to respect existing agreements."
He added that Russia has violated and withdrawn from other key arms control agreements over the years.
Ukraine war latest: Putin suspends arms control treaty, Biden says Russia won't win
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