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."
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell gestures during a press conference on April 8, 2024. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on June 24 that Ukraine will receive the revenue payments from Russian frozen assets in two tranches starting from July.
"We have these revenues coming from the frozen assets, and we have to look for a way in order to use them, avoiding any kind of blockage," Borrellsaid during the press briefing in Luxembourg.
"We have a process in order to make this work quickly. The first tranche of money will come next week, in July. The second will come some months later."
EU ambassadors agreed on May 8 to use the windfall profits from the frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction and defense needs. Kyiv is expected to receive roughly 3 billion euros($3.2 billion) every year, according to earlier discussions.
Borrell said Ukraine needs more help, particularly now.
"I hope that the ministers will support the proposal that we have tabled in order to make this support increase using the Russian revenues," he added.
Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Roughly two-thirds are held in the Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear.
While some G7 members, like the U.S., proposed seizing Russian assets outright, the EU has been more hesitant, fearing the legal and fiscal pitfalls of confiscation. Instead, Brussels seeks to use windfall profits generated by the frozen assets and funnel them to Kyiv.
Timothy Ash
