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.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (R) and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo, Japan, during the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction on Feb. 19, 2024. (PM Denys Shmyhal/Telegram)
Ukrainian and Japanese business and government officials signed 56 agreements and memoranda within the framework of the reconstruction conference held in Tokyo, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Feb. 19.
The Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction, attended by a Ukrainian delegation led by Shmyhal, began earlier on Feb. 19 to foster dialogue between government officials and business sectors from both countries.
The newly finalized documents include an intergovernmental convention to avoid double taxation, an important step for Japanese business projects in Ukraine. The two governments also signed a memorandum on cooperation in education and technology.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Export Credit Agency NEXI, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed more than 10 agreements to support Ukraine's reconstruction efforts.
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The Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry concluded several deals with Japanese companies on the supply of agricultural machinery to Ukraine. Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned energy giant, finalized an agreement on cooperation in wind energy. A deal on the modernization of Ukraine's gas compressor stations was also concluded during the conference.
The parties signed several other grant agreements and documents on cooperation in the fields of energy, telecommunications, infrastructure construction, and ecology.
"Japan has already shown leadership in financial support to Ukraine. Now, Japan should become one of the leaders of Ukrainian recovery and investment in our economy," Shmyhal said.
As the full-scale Russian invasion nears its two-year mark, Ukraine's expected reconstruction costs amount to $486 billion over the next decade, according to an assessment by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, and the EU.
Japan has contributed around $8 billion to Ukraine in humanitarian and financial assistance since the start of the all-out war, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Dominic Culverwell
