This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
President Volodymyr Zelensky talks during his daily address to the nation on Oct. 20. (President's Office)
Russian authorities made a decision to halt the U.N.-brokered grain deal back in September – not today, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Russia began deliberately aggravating the food crisis back in September, when it blocked the movement of ships with our (grain)," Zelensky said in his evening video address on Oct. 29.
It was doing so by creating artificial queues of vessels in Ukrainian ports, Zelensky said. According to him, from September to today, 176 vessels carrying over 2 million metric tons of grain can't follow their "grain corridor" route. Some cargo ships have been waiting for more than three weeks.
"This is Russia's absolutely deliberate (move). This is its absolutely transparent intention to start threatening Africa and Asia with large-scale famine again," the president said.
As of Oct. 28, since the start of the U.N.-backed grain deal in July, more than 400 ships carrying 9.1 million metric tons of grain have left Ukrainian ports.
"Why a handful of people somewhere in the Kremlin can decide whether people in Egypt or Bangladesh will have food on their tables? The world has the power to protect people against this," Zelensky said.
Russia suspended its participation in the grain deal on Oct. 29 after what it claims was a drone attack on a minesweeper and a dam in Russian-occupied Sevastopol, a city in Crimea that hosts a Russian naval base.
Last week, Russian authorities declared Moscow was taking issue with some aspects of the agreement, claiming that Russian grain and fertilizer shipments weren't being treated fairly. However, exports of Russian grains and fertilizers are not subject to Western sanctions.
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