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.
An abandoned building in the unfinished planned city of Orbita, next to the unfinished Chyhyrynska Nuclear Power Plant in Cherkasy Oblast. (Wikimedia Commons)
Ukraine is preparing to resume the construction of the previously abandoned Chyhyryn plant in Cherkasy Oblast, state nuclear energy agency Energoatom reported on Aug. 27.
“The Energoatom team is actively working to find new construction sites. The most promising of them is Chyhyryn, near the town of Orbita in Cherkasy oblast,” said Energoatom.
According to Energoatom, the plant will be equipped with AP1000 reactors built by U.S. company Westinghouse.
The members of the Chyhyryn City Council voted to grant Energoatom permission to resume construction of the plant. “The first steps have been taken,” said Energoatom.
“Energoatom intends to revive Orbita. Successful implementation of these plans is undoubtedly a significant investment in the post-war recovery and support of the state's energy security,” said Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin.
“The introduction of innovative nuclear technologies will make Ukraine a leader in the field of nuclear energy with unique experience and its own technological solutions.”
The Chyhyryn station is an unfinished nuclear power plant located in Cherkasy Oblast, near the shore of the Kremenchuk reservoir, between the villages of Stetsivka and Vitove.
The Orbita settlement was being built for the plant's employees before the fall of the Soviet Union triggered the cancellation of the project.
Since 2022, Ukraine has been experiencing significant shortages of electricity due to constant Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and the occupation of one of four Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Throughout its occupation, the plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.
Energoatom's press service reported on April 15 that it has started building reactor units 5 and 6 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant using U.S. technology, which would help prevent power outages in case of Russian attacks.
If the new reactors are completed, the Khmelnytskyi plant, located in Ukraine's west, would then replace the Zaporizhzhia plant as the largest one in Europe.
Daria Svitlyk
