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."
Protesters take part in a demonstration outside the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 8, 2023, to protest government plans to introduce a "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. (VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko denied Kyiv's involvement in an alleged coup plot to oust the current Georgian government following Tbilisi's accusations earlier on Sept. 18.
The State Security Service of Georgia claimed that figures close to the imprisoned Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili are preparing mass protests in October and December at the time when the European Commission is set to announce its decision on Georgia's EU membership application.
The anti-government protests are allegedly meant to oust the Georgian Dream government in a "scenario similar to the EuroMaidan (Revolution)," Bacha Mgeladze, deputy director of the counterterrorism unit of Georgia's State Security Service, said at a press briefing.
Mgeladze said Georgia's former Deputy Interior Minister Giorgi Lortkipanidze, who he alleged is now the deputy chief of Ukraine's military intelligence is behind the plot.
Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said Lortkipanidze never worked as deputy head of the country's intelligence.
The coup is allegedly "being carried out with the coordination and funding from a foreign country," the Georgian security service claimed.
"The information is not true. The current Georgian authorities are once again trying to demonize Ukraine in order to solve its internal political issues," Nikolenko reacted to the allegations.
"The Ukrainian state did not interfere, does not interfere, and does not plan to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia."
The relations between Ukraine and Georgia have been deteriorating namely due to the Georgian Dream's supposedly pro-Kremlin policies, carried out even though Russian forces continue to occupy Georgian territory in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In a diplomatic spat that took place in July, the Ukrainian authorities accused Georgia of mistreatment of imprisoned Saakashvili, who is also a Ukrainian citizen and a former Governor of Odesa Oblast.
Amid fears of pro-Russian leanings and democratic backsliding, the EU decided to withhold membership candidate status for Georgia last year while granting it to Ukraine and Moldova.
This sparked large-scale anti-government protests in Georgia, which aimed to demonstrate the population's support for the country's European aspirations.
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.
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