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.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Sean Penn poses in the photo booth during AARP's Annual Movies For Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on Feb. 08, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for AARP)
U.S. actor and film director Sean Penn met with the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the Special Operations Forces stationed in Kropyvnytskyi in Kirovohrad Oblast, according to a video posted on the unit's Facebook on April 22.
The actor visited Ukraine for the fourth time during Russia's full-scale invasion.
"Despite a lot of what the politicians are doing, I believe in all of you, and I'm grateful to all of you for being the very best of what we all aspire to be," Penn said.
"You're not only defending your country, you're truly defending the world, and that will be known, you see, and I know you'll prevail, and God bless all of you and your families. Thank you," he added.
On Feb. 24, 2023, Penn presented his documentary "Superpower," filmed in Kyiv, with President Volodymyr Zelensky's participation at the Berlin Film Festival.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Oleg Sukhov
