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."
A photo released by the Zhytomyr Oblast Prosecutor's Office on Aug. 9, 2023, of the woman being detained by the SBU. (Zhytomyr Oblast Regional Prosecutor's Office)
A woman has been detained under suspicion of spying for the Russian military, the Zhytomyr Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported on Aug. 9.
The 42-year-old woman, who is originally from Donetsk Oblast but lived in Zhytomyr Oblast since March, is believed to have cooperated with Russian military intelligence by giving them information that was used to launch missile strikes.
She informed the Russian military of arms deliveries, the deployment of Ukrainian troops, and the location of military facilities in the region.
In July, she went to a military facility in Zhytomyr Oblast to photograph the site, note the number and movement of military equipment, and calculate GPS coordinates. She sent the information to her Russian handler by email.
The woman has been informed that she is under suspicion of committing treason. She remains in custody without bail while Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducts a pre-trial investigation.
On Aug. 1, the SBU said that it detained a suspected spy for providing Russian security services with information on the consequences of Russian airstrikes in Mykolaiv Oblast.
A similar arrest was announced by the SBU on July 20, when an employee of the state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia was detained for helping Russia to plan air strikes against Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Anna Myroniuk
