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."
An AliExpress logo sits above the entrance to a retail store operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., in a shopping mall in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The Alibaba Group Holding Limited, the owner of the online shopping portal AliExpress, was added to Ukraine's list of "international sponsors of war" in August 2023. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
China warned Ukraine that the inclusion of 14 Chinese companies on Ukraine's "international sponsors of war" list could potentially harm relations between the two countries, Reuters reported on Feb. 1, citing unnamed Ukrainian sources.
The "international sponsors of war" list, created by Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), is designed to be "a powerful reputational tool" to encourage the exit of international business from Russia and reduce Moscow's financial ability to continue its war against Ukraine, the NACP explains on its website.
There are almost 50 international companies on the list, with the largest number coming from China.
The warning came during a recent meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Ukraine and senior Ukrainian officials, Reuters said.
"The (Chinese) ambassador said that all this (international sponsors of war list) could have a negative impact on our relations," one of the sources told Reuters.
The source added that the ambassador did not issue any concrete threats or implications if the companies remained on the list but just offered his views on the issue.
Another source said that Beijing "could link the matter to Chinese purchases of Ukrainian grain." China was Ukraine's largest trade partner prior to the full-scale invasion, and the two countries have retained important economic ties.
Reuters said that the Chinese and Ukrainian Foreign Ministries did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine.
China and Russia have strengthened their economic and political ties amid a Western push to isolate Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China has offered to mediate the conflict but has not condemned Russia's actions and repeatedly abstained from voting in UN resolutions on the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, Ukraine has tried not to distance itself from China and has sought China's participation in talks on Ukraine's peace formula.
China has confirmed it was invited to upcoming talks in Switzerland but has not committed to joining.
Daniil Ukhorskiy
