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.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on partners to speed up the provision of military aid to Ukraine in his online address at the Ramstein-8 meeting on Jan. 20. "Every unit (of supplied weaponry) helps to save our people from terror. But time – time remains a Russian weapon. We have to speed up," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's president emphasized he is "truly grateful" to all allies for the weapons delivered so far, but the war "doesn't allow delays."
"All of us can use thousands of words in discussions, but I cannot put words instead of guns that are needed against Russian artillery or instead of anti-aircraft missiles that are needed to protect people from Russian airstrikes," Zelensky said, adding that "hundreds of thank you are not hundreds of tanks."
Zelensky finished his speech by urging the summit participants to supply Western-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Sky News. Ukraine's allies have been reluctant to send this aircraft so far.
On Jan. 20, defense ministers from some 50 countries met at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further support for Ukraine.
According to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the main priorities of Ukraine to be discussed at the Jan. 20 Ramstein summit are air defense systems, weaponry for offensive operations, including tanks, howitzers, and ammunition, systematic ammunition supplies, as well as repair services for military equipment.
This is the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The previous one was held online on Nov. 16, 2022.
The Ramstein-8 meeting comes amid high tension over Germany's hesitations to provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks or allow their delivery by other countries.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 19. that Germany would only provide Leopards to Ukraine if the U.S. sends native M1 Abrams tanks first.
Responding to Scholz's comments, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said that "it doesn't make sense" for the U.S. to send Abrams tanks "at the moment."
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