"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.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
A vehicle transports an RS-24 Yars strategic nuclear missile along a street during a Victory Day rehearsal in Moscow, Russia, on June 17, 2020. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg)
A massive explosion occurred at the Votkinsk weapons factory in Russia's Udmurtia region the evening of Feb. 7, according to the state-run news outlet TASS.
The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant produces nuclear weapons components and ballistic missiles, including the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The detonation caused a large fire to break out at the factory. Residents of Votkinsk reportedly shared videos of the fire on social media.
TASS said that the dispatch service claimed the explosion resulted from "a scheduled test of rocket engines."
The dispatch service reportedly called the explosion "a planned event, not an emergency."
No information has been released about casualties from the blast.
Votkinsk lies about 50 kilometers from the regional capital of Izhevsk. The weapons factory produces civilian and military products, including strategic ballistic missiles for the Topol-M and Iskander systems.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Daria Shulzhenko
