"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky (middle) during the global peace summit in Switzerland on June 16, 2024. (Presidential Office)
Ukraine is planning to convene a second peace summit with Russia's participation before the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, Bloomberg reported on July 10, citing its undisclosed sources.
Switzerland hosted Ukraine's global peace summit on June 15-16, with around 100 countries and organizations in attendance. Seventy-eight states and four organizations signed the final joint communique of the peace summit on June 16. Several more joined the document after the event.
An unnamed Ukrainian official confirmed to Bloomberg that the country plans to hold a second summit before the U.S. presidential election.
The Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has repeatedly said he could end Russia's war within 24 hours if elected, without specifying the steps for reaching a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Some Western officials said that the peace meeting would need "to be carefully organized with a clear purpose and expectations managed," while some U.S. officials are not sure if a summit with Ukraine and Russia will take place.
Some countries that participated in the first summit but were notably absent from the list of signatories included India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Colombia, South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.
China refused to participate due to Russia's absence and instead pitched its alternative peace plan.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Liliane Bivings
