Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"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.
Leonid Volkov attends a discussion at the 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct. 18, 2022, in Frankfurt, Germany. (Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)
Polish authorities have detained a Belarusian suspected of organizing, on Moscow's behalf, an attack on Leonid Volkov, a close associate of late Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on April 19.
"A Belarusian working for Russia who ordered two Poles to assassinate Navalny's associate – detained," Tusk said on X.The two attackers are also in custody, he added.
The prime minister did not name Volkov explicitly, but he was most likely referring to an incident in Lithuania in March when unknown assailants attacked Volkov with hammers.
Volkov, one of the top members of Navalny's presidential campaign in 2018 and a former chair of his Anti-Corruption Foundation, was injured but survived the attack. The oppositionist blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the assault.
Tusk also reminded that the Polish authorities had detained a Polish citizen who allegedly planned to assassinate Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russian intelligence services.
"There will be no leniency for collaborators with Russian intelligence services," Tusk said.
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.
Chris York
