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.
Ukrainian officials, with the help of Qatar, managed to return 13 children illegally held by Russian authorities on May 23, 2024. (Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram)
Another 13 children were returned to Ukraine from Russia with the help of Qatar, Ukraine's Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on May 23.
Qatar acts as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia to bring back Ukrainian children illegally held by Russia.
At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and less than 400 have been returned home, according to the Ukrainian government's Children of War database.
Seven of the 13 children were returned from Russian-occupied territories, while the remaining six were returned through the framework of the Bring Kids Back UA plan, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the announcement, a 15-year-old girl from occupied Mariupol was among the 13 returned children.
Lubinets visited Qatar in April, where he delivered a list with the names of 561 Ukrainian children illegally held in Russia to Qatari officials. He said he expects results on "other issues" discussed during his visit to the country.
The Ombudsman said that the Office of the Commissioner, other state bodies of Ukraine, as well as Qatar participated in the return of the children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, over the deportation of Ukrainian children. The 123 member states of the ICC are required to arrest Putin if he steps foot on their territory.
Putin previously praised Lvova-Belova for her work overseeing the deportation of Ukrainian children, portraying it as a so-called "humanitarian effort" to "protect Russian citizens."
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Igor Kossov
