The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
"Perhaps in some areas, the intensity decreased slightly to create an image of compliance with their own announcement. But in reality, (Russia) continued attacks every day, using all available weapons — including aircraft to drop guided bombs on Ukraine," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said.
Beijing supports all efforts toward achieving peace in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 12 when asked about Kyiv and Europe's proposal for a 30-day truce.
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a pre-ministerial press conference ahead of a meeting of the NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 14, 2024. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
NATO’s European allies and Canada have stepped up their defense spending to record levels, but criticism about the Alliance’s members not spending enough is valid, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Feb. 14.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of a meeting of the NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Stoltenberg assured that 18 NATO allies are projected to meet the 2% GDP defense spending target – a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies upheld their commitments.
“In 2024, NATO allies in Europe will invest a combined total of $380 billion in defense,” Stoltenberg said. “For the first time, this amounts to 2% of their combined GDP, so we are making real progress.”
He added that NATO has signed contracts worth $10 billion dollars on ammunition production in the past few months, highlighting that Germany has launched the construction of a new ammunition factory estimated to be able to produce 200,000 artillery shells per year.
The announcement comes days after former U.S. President Donald Trump came under fire for saying that he would not protect NATO countries that fail to meet their defense spending commitments.
“In fact, I would encourage (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want,” he said at a campaign rally on Feb. 10.
Stoltenberg hit back against Trump’s comment the following day, insisting that NATO remains “ready and able to defend all allies.”
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk. I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the U.S. will remain a strong and committed NATO ally.”
Stoltenberg acknowledged at the pre-ministerial meeting on Feb. 14 that criticism about NATO allies’ defense spending is valid, noting that the criticism is directed not at NATO but at the Alliance’s member states themselves.
“And that’s a valid point. And it’s a point and the message that has been conveyed by successive U.S. administrations, that European Allies and Canada have to spend more because we haven’t seen fair burden sharing in the Alliance. The good news is that that is exactly what NATO Allies are doing.”
The Secretary-General re-emphasized his earlier criticism of Trump’s statement, noting that “any suggestion that we (NATO) are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, does undermine the security of all of us, increasing the risks.”
“We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow, about our readiness and our commitment, our resolve to protect our Allies,” he continued. “And the reason to do so is not to provoke a conflict, but it is to prevent the conflict, as NATO has done successfully for 75 years.”
Stoltenberg was tight-lipped on rumors of a change to the format of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that would see NATO coordinating military aid to Ukraine instead of the U.S, noting only that frameworks are in place to insulate Ukraine aid from potential election-related shifts in support.
As concerns over the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on aid for Ukraine grow, Stoltenberg said his last trip to Washington highlighted broad support across Democrats and Republicans in both the House and the Senate for Ukraine and NATO.
"The United States have never fought a war alone. They always fight with Allies, and that makes the United States stronger," he concluded.
"From the Korean War to Afghanistan, NATO Allies have been fighting shoulder by shoulder with U.S. soldiers. And we have to remember that the only time we invoked Article Five was after an attack on the United States – Afghanistan – 9/11. And, hundreds of thousands of Canadian and European troops served in Afghanistan to protect the United States, and many of them payed the ultimate price."
The meeting of the NATO defense ministers is set to begin in the morning on Feb. 15.
Teah Pelechaty is the opinion editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is also a co-editor of Belarus Weekly, the Kyiv Independent's weekly update on current affairs in Belarus. She received a master’s degree in Global Affairs with a specialization in Global Security and Digital Governance at the University of Toronto and Sciences Po. She was previously a junior policy analyst in national security at the Government of Canada and a research associate with the European Values Center for Security Policy and the Atlantic Council.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
