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."
Photo for illustrative purposes. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Jan. 15, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
U.S. and Russian officials will not discuss Russia's war against Ukraine during their meeting in Istanbul on Feb. 27, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Feb. 26 that Washington and Moscow would hold a second round of talks in Turkey, just over a week after delegates from the two countries met in Saudi Arabia for their first direct talks since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting will not include discussions on Ukraine, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
"To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda," the spokesperson said via email.
Lavrov said the meeting would focus on the reopening of embassies and diplomatic missions, one of three main objectives named at the conclusion of the Saudi Arabia talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Kyiv will not accept any decisions about Ukraine's future that arise from negotiations that exclude Ukraine. No Ukrainians were invited to participate in the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh.
As American officials prepare to meet with a Russian delegation for the second time this month, U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that a ceasefire deal between Kyiv and Moscow is imminent.
Trump said on Feb. 24 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion — that the war could be over "within weeks." Ahead of official peace negotiations, he has already said that Ukraine "can forget about" joining NATOand that he is interested in signing a deal with Russia on rare earth minerals.
The drastic shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Russia has alarmed Ukrainian and European leaders. Zelensky is set to meet with Trump on Feb. 28 to sign a critical minerals agreement and press the U.S. to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
