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."
The European Union's, Poland's, and NATO's flags as seen during a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Warsaw, Poland, on July 17, 2024. (Aleksander Kalka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Poland is urging the European Union to fight Russian disinformation campaigns in the United States by stressing the importance of the bloc's alliance with Washington, Reuters reported on July 20.
Warsaw will present a paper at a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers on July 22 calling for the E.U. to launch its own campaign countering Russian disinformation.
"At this critical moment in history, it is imperative that we collectively take swift and robust action to strengthen the transatlantic relations through strategic communication about the E.U. in the U.S.," the paper reportedly says.
Poland warned that Russia's propaganda aims to create tensions between the U.S. and the E.U., and said that it is critical for the E.U. to counter this messaging with American audiences.
"This means scaling up our de-bunking and, even more importantly, pre-bunking of Russian disinformation and launching campaigns which set the record straight about where Europe stands today and about the benefits of diplomacy, collective security and open society," the paper says.
According to the paper, online accounts associated with the Kremlin are disseminating narratives that catastrophize the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and portray immigrants as criminals in a bit to sway voters ahead of the November elections.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made immigration policy a focal point of his reelection campaign.
Congressional Republicans also used concerns over border security to obstruct U.S. military aid to Ukraine for months, ultimately demanding harsh anti-immigration concessions before agreeing to the bill.
U.S. officials have said that Russia engaged in a widespread campaign of digital disinformation and hacking in the past two presidential elections, particularly in 2016.
"We should expect much more is to come, as eroding support for Ukraine remains Russia's top priority," Poland's paper says.
Poland said the E.U. should appeal to younger American audiences and emphasize the value "our decades-long partnership has brought to the U.S. economy."
The E.U. should also make the U.S. public more aware of the scale of European aid to Ukraine "and how that effort helps save Ukrainian lives."
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Martin Fornusek
