"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.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko waves during a rally outside the airport upon his arrival in Kyiv on Jan. 17, 2022
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said on Feb.14 that former President Petro Poroshenko had not submitted "any relevant documents" that would confirm his reported meetings with Western leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where he was allegedly not allowed to attend.
The ex-president said Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk did not approve the delegation of the Poroshenko-led European Solidarity party, citing alleged threats to his life abroad based on warnings by Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov.
"Claims by representatives of the European Solidarity party regarding their party's non-participation in the Munich Security Conference are manipulative," the Verkhovna Rada wrote in its statement on Facebook.
The parliament said that Stefanchuk had ordered to form a parliamentary delegation to participate in the conference, which included an equal number of lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parliamentary groups.
According to the parliament's statement, lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko will represent the European Solidarity party at the conference.
Co-head of the European Solidarity party Iryna Herashchenko called the Verkhovna Rada's statement "false," claiming that all the documents for the business trip were submitted in advance.
The ex-president was previously barred from leaving Ukraine in December 2023. Even though he initially received official permission, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) requested it to be canceled due to Poroshenko's planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He was also blocked from leaving Ukraine in May 2022 for a NATO summit but was eventually allowed to exit the country on his third try.
Poroshenko, who was elected president in 2014, lost his reelection bid in 2019 to President Volodymyr Zelensky in a bitter campaign that often included personal attacks.
The rivalry between the two did not subside after the election, and Poroshenko was investigated on charges of treason for allegedly doing business in Russian-occupied Donbas. Poroshenko claimed the investigation was politically motivated.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Martin Fornusek
