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."
Transmission towers and power lines near a missile-damaged high-voltage electricity sub-station, operated by Ukrenergo, in central Ukraine, on March 1, 2023. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sweden has allocated 25.2 million euros ($26.6 million) to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine and has already delivered over 1,000 tons of equipment to aid in the restoration of the power infrastructure.
Yaroslav Demchenkov and Svitlana Grynchuk, Ukraine's deputy energy ministers, met with the representatives of the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine and discussed areas of cooperation to strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian energy system.
The Fund for Energy Support of Ukraine, established under the Energy Community Secretariat, received a transfer of Swedish aid in August. Sweden also shipped energy-related equipment, such as transformers, generators, and other critical equipment to Ukraine.
On Sept. 24, the U.S. and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving Ukraine's energy resilience. Subject to the availability of funds, the U.S. plans to supply Ukraine with $522 million in energy-related assistance, including $100 million provided on the condition Kyiv makes progress in some energy sector reforms.
Washington and Kyiv also pledged to collaborate on protecting Ukraine’s most critical energy infrastructure, including anti-drone and anti-missile defense, among other measures, the U.S. Embassy wrote.
Martin Fornusek
