Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
The measures target almost 200 ships of Russia's "shadow fleet," 30 companies involved in sanctions evasion, 75 sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, and more.
"Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv. "And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process."
The EU plans to significantly increase tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the current duty-free deal lapses on June 6, the Financial Times reported on May 14, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
For illustrative purposes only: a plume of smoke rises over a field after the Russian drone attack on the port infrastructure of Izmail in Odesa Oblast on Aug. 2, 2023. (Yulii Zozulia / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Videos on social media that purport to show Romanian air defense units shooting down Russian attack drones above Ukraine are spreading a false narrative, Romania's Defense Ministry said in a statement on July 26.
Romania's Defense Ministry said that the videos falsely spread "the idea that Romania was targeted by the Russian Federation's drone attacks" against Ukraine.
The claims have "no real basis" as Russia was targeting Ukraine's port infrastructure on the Danube and not targets in Romania, the Defense Ministry said.
Russia launched a drone attack against Izmail in southwestern Ukraine overnight on July 24. The port city lies on the Danube River, which forms the border between Romania and Ukraine.
The attack led the Romanian Air Force to scramble its F-16 fighter jets. Drone debris was found on July 25 in Plauru in Romania, just across the Danube from Izmail.
The caption of one video shared thousands of times on X claimed that Romania had downed Russian drones over Ukrainian airspace using Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns during the attack.
Romanian forces "deployed in the border area with Ukraine did not, in any such situation, fire on the means of attack of Russian Federation," the Defense Ministry said.
"In order to shoot them down, we have to fire on the territory of Ukraine, and I don’t think this is allowed yet, I have not heard of any decision in this regard," Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on July 26.
"These drones are usually hit by the Ukrainian artillery and immediately fall on the bank of the Danube. There is still absolutely no danger for Romanians in the area," Ciolacu added.
Romania has taken measures to protect its citizens who live close to the Ukrainian border, including the construction of air raid shelters and the deployment of drone defense systems.
Elsa Court
