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.
Several of the first batch of HIMARS rocket launchers purchased from the U.S. on display at the First Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Poland, on May 15, 2023. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Poland is considering whether to involve its air defenses in shooting down Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory, Polish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Ukrinform on May 22.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Reuters on May 20 that Western allies, including Poland, could intervene more directly in Ukraine's defense by shooting down Russian missiles.
Wronski responded to Zelensky's statement in comments to Ukrinform, saying that the Polish government is discussing the technical and legal aspects of such a move.
"This issue is being considered from a legal and technical point of view, but there are no decisions in this matter," Wronski said.
Wronski said that Ukraine had approached Poland to propose the air defense initiative.
A Russian missile entered Polish airspace during a massive aerial attack launched against Ukraine on March 24. The missile remained in Polish air for 39 seconds. According to Wronski, the Polish government has been discussing the legal ramifications of shooting down Russian missiles since this incident.
Wronski clarified that Poland is not considering transferring any of its air defense units to Ukraine.
"There is no discussion of this in Poland at all. There is no possibility of the Polish air defence system being outside the country's borders," he said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Roman Sulzhyk
