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."
An agricultural worker unload cereals from a combine as workers harvest a large field of barley near the border with Russia in the Chernihiv region on Aug. 30, 2023. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
The Slovak government plans to extend and expand the ban on Ukrainian agricultural products, according to an Agriculture Ministry proposal that was approved on Nov. 29.
The government is set to add honey, barley, wheat flour, soybeans, and cane or beet sugar to the list of banned agricultural products.
The ban previously applied to four cereals, namely wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds, and will remain in place until the end of 2023.
The Slovak Agriculture Minister "will update this list if necessary, justified by the development of the market situation," the resolution stated.
The resolution says the ban is necessary due to the "absence of a systemic pan-European solution and the unilateral bans of two neighboring countries," referring to Poland and Hungary.
Ukraine and Slovakia agreed on Sept. 21 to create a licensing system for their grain trade, which raised hopes Slovakia's import ban on Ukrainian agricultural products could be lifted.
Robert Fico's SMER party then won the parliamentary elections on Sept. 30 on a populist platform that promised to cut back on support to Ukraine, including the immediate end to all military aid.
The EU initially instituted the import ban on select agricultural products from Ukraine in May 2023 at the request of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, who feared that the influx of cheaper Ukrainian products would pressure their farmers.
The measure still permitted the transit of these products through the five countries for exports elsewhere.
Following the expiration of the measure on Sept. 15, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary continued restrictions on the national level, leading to a diplomatic dispute on the issue.
In response, Kyiv said it would sue the three countries over the import ban at the World Trade Organization but later said the complaint had been put on hold.
Kyiv wants to find a "constructive solution (on agricultural imports) within the framework of the entire EU," Ukraine's Trade Representative Taras Kachka told reporters on Oct. 5.
Asami Terajima
