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."
A volunteer sorts humanitarian aid in the biggest volunteer center in Mykolaiv on April 28, 2022. (Photo credit: Oleksandr Gimanov)
Norway pledged 1 billion Norwegian kroner ($92 million) in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help prepare the population for the upcoming winter, the Norwegian governmentannounced on Sept. 26.
The latest support is meant to ensure access to "necessary protection" and "vital assistance" to civilians in the upcoming winter months as Russia is expected to escalate its attacks on the country's infrastructure.
"Russia's brutal warfare causes great suffering to the Ukrainian civilian population," Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said at the international meeting in Oslo focused on Ukraine's humanitarian needs.
"The Ukrainians are making a heroic effort to resist daily attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. They need our help to get through another winter of this war."
According to the press statement, the meeting was organized by Norway and the EU, with Ukraine's attendance, to discuss possible ways of helping the Ukrainian population affected by the war.
The agenda included a discussion on how to transition from short-term humanitarian efforts to long-term reconstruction.
Norway has contributed more than $320 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war, according to the government's statement.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
