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."
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announces reconstruction efforts to take place across Ukraine. (Photo: Government portal)
Two cities and four villages across five oblasts will be completely rebuilt as part of the Ukrainian government's efforts to "build back better," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 25.
This includes the city of Borodianka and the village of Moshchun in Kyiv Oblast, the city of Trostianets in Sumy Oblast, the village of Posad-Pokrovske in Kherson Oblast, the village of Tsyrkuny in Kharkiv Oblast, and the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast.
"All these settlements suffered terrible destruction. Now they will be comprehensively restored. This means that not only individual buildings and structures will be rebuilt, but everything — with a systemic approach, new planning, and complete transformation of these settlements," Shmyhal said.
However, the reconstruction of these six settlements will not impact efforts elsewhere in the country. According to Shmyhal, there are "hundreds of different projects, hundreds of cities and towns, where reconstruction will take place simultaneously."
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Posad-Pokrovske during his trip to Kherson Oblast in late March. He met with local residents who stressed the importance of rebuilding a large number of houses and social infrastructure facilities that had been damaged by Russian forces.
The Kyiv School of Economics reported in late March that Russia's all-out war in Ukraine has damaged or destroyed over 150,000 residential buildings, including houses, apartment buildings, and dormitories, totaling $53.6 billion in damages. Damages to infrastructure are estimated at $36.2 billion.
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Asami Terajima
