President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
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.
Russia begun sending troops and military vehicles to Belarus ahead of February drills as tensions with the West rise over a potential full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (vayar.mil.by)
Russia has begun sending its troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine’s northern neighbor Belarus ahead of next month’s joint military exercises, in a move likely to stir Western fears that Moscow is preparing to further invade Ukraine.
Belarus's defense ministry announced on Jan. 18 that Russian troops have already arrived, weeks before the start of military drills scheduled for Feb. 10-20. Videos posted on social media allegedly show artillery and other military vehicles moving towards Belarus.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko said that the military maneuvers with Russia will be held near the country’s western rim, near Ukrainian borders as well as NATO's eastern members Poland and Lithuania.
Ukrainian military experts have expressed concern that the joint military drills can effectively put pressure on Ukraine’s defense by way of the two country's 1,130-kilometer border with Ukraine.
The joint military exercises are to take place as Russia musters forces along Ukraine’s eastern border, threatening a potential full-scale invasion. Moscow continues to carry out regular military drills with nearly 100,000 Russian troops concentrated close to Ukraine’s border.
Moscow denied having plans to attack its neighbor but has demanded security guarantees from the West, which includes a halt to NATO’s eastern enlargement and a formal veto for Ukraine's potential accession to NATO.
Lukashenko branded the exercises as “normal” drills aimed at “working out a certain plan for confronting the West and the south (Ukraine)," during his meeting with Belarus military officers on Jan. 17.
Belarus remains heavily reliant on its relationship with Russia given harsh sanctions imposed on the country following a brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors in August 2020. The protests were sparked by Lukashenko's "victory" in what appeared to be rigged presidential elections.
Lukashenko said that the drills were needed because Poland and Baltic countries allegedly have more than 30,000 soldiers stationed near Belarus. He also claimed that Ukraine increased its military presence near the Belarus border.
The Kremlin said separately that Moscow was right to be concerned after learning about the reports indicating that Estonia was prepared to host up to 5,000 additional NATO soldiers.
“It is exactly those things that prove that we have reasons to be worried,” Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
NATO deployed four international battle groups to defend Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in 2017 as part of a wider program to deter Russian aggression.
The battalion-sized units were deployed in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its ongoing offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
The latest major joint exercise between Belarus and Russia was in September involving over 200,000 troops.
Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.
