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.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron speaks to a reporter outside St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 2, 2024. (Thomas Peter/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The British government said on May 13 that its stance toward supporting Ukraine has not changed after media reports of U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron allegedly pitching a peace plan to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, Politico reported.
Cameron met Trump at the latter's Florida residence in early April, seeking to convince the likely Republican nominee for the November 2024 presidential vote of the need to continue supporting Kyiv.
The Sunday Times reported on May 12 that, according to an undisclosed senior source, Cameron said that further aid would help Ukraine hold the front lines and give Trump the "best possible conditions" to mediate a peace deal.
According to the outlet's source, Cameron passed this message to Trump: "What are the best conditions in which you as president can make a deal in January? It's both sides holding their lines and paying a price for that."
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Though the media reported at the time that Cameron's lobbying mission in the U.S. was unsuccessful, Trump eventually backed a $61 billion funding bill for Ukraine, which passed with bipartisan support later in April.
Cameron's proposal, as described in The Times's article, differs from London's public position on possible peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Cameron himself has said that "peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and weakness."
When asked about the claims, a British government spokesperson told reporters on May 13: "I don't recognize those reports... our position has not changed. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin must fail."
"We will support Ukraine for as long as necessary to repel Russian aggression," the spokesperson added.
The U.K. has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since the outbreak of the full-scale war. Cameron visited Ukraine earlier in May, and London recently announced its largest defense aid package for Ukraine worth 500 million pounds ($628 million).
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Olena Goncharova
