President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
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.
Employees operate freight-pushing buggies to pile humanitarian aid at a warehouse of the Nova Poshta postal company in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 17, 2022. (Oleksii Filippov/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's postal service Nova Poshta will arrange additional bomb shelters in its depots after a Russian strike on their facility in Kharkiv Oblast killed six people, the company's co-founder said on Oct. 23, as cited by Ukrinform.
"We have built bomb shelters at all depots. But now it's about making small bomb shelters inside the buildings so people can be as close to them as possible," said Volodymyr Popereshniuk.
"In the case of Kharkiv - a strike takes place in less than a minute, literally 30-40 seconds. You need to manage to hide during this time."
A Russian missile hit a post depot of Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych in Kharkiv Oblast late on Oct. 21, killing at least six postal employees and injuring 17 more people, according to the regional prosecutor's office.
There was a bomb shelter in the depot, but the victims didn't have time to get to it as only 15 seconds passed between the air raid alert and the explosion, said another Nova Poshta co-founder, Viacheslav Klymov, citing the wounded workers.
Korotych lies just 16 kilometers west of Kharkiv, 33 kilometers away from the Russian border, and some 135 kilometers from the front lines.
The northeastern Kharkiv Oblast remains a frequent target of Russian attacks due to its proximity to Russia and the front line.
Alexander Khrebet
