Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
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.
A soldier stands at a border checkpoint between Armenia and Azerbaijan near the village of Sotk, Armenia, on June 18, 2021. (Karen Minasyan/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia is spreading disinformation that accuses Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) of trying to instigate an armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, HUR said on March 2.
The intelligence agency referred to a fake document presented as a report from HUR to Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk, which has been disseminated in Armenian Telegram channels.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are bitter rivals who have clashed in several armed conflicts over border and ethnic issues since gaining independence in the 1990s.
Moscow has maintained mostly warm ties with Azerbaijan but was also seen as a key military ally of Armenia. Russia's relationship with Yerevan sharply deteriorated after Russian peacekeepers did not prevent Baku's lightning offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.
The fake report accuses Ukraine's intelligence of trying to spark a new war to divert Russia's attention and disperse its forces, alleviating pressure on Ukraine. HUR noted that the document contains several spelling errors and does not meet the requirements of official communication.
According to Ukraine's military intelligence, the fake report aims to "discredit Ukraine and undermine Ukrainian-Armenian and Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations, which ultimately benefits Russia."
Kyiv has maintained stable relations with both South Caucasus countries. Azerbaijan has provided humanitarian aid during the full-scale war, while Armenia's pivot away from Moscow signaled the potential strengthening of Ukrainian- Armenian ties.
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.
The Kyiv Independent
