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."
An F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft extended its landing gear to land at the U.S. military airfield at Spangdahlem. (Harald Tittel/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Denmark's Acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the TV2 channel on June 15 that Ukrainian pilots will be able to train on F-16 fighter jets on Danish soil.
Poulsen explained that according to a joint plan with the Netherlands, Ukraine's pilots will receive training at the Danish Air Force base Skrødstrup in Southern Jutland, where F-16s are based.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on June 12 that the training of Ukrainian pilots could start already this summer. However, her Danish counterpart told TV2 that the process will likely start only "after the summer holidays."
Poulsen voiced hope that other countries will provide their support as well so that Amsterdam and Copenhagen can present a more concrete plan at the Vilnius NATO summit in July.
The acting defense minister reminded that Denmark has not yet decided on transferring the aircraft to Ukraine.
"We are still very far from these planes becoming combat aircraft in the Ukrainian Air Force. According to my estimates, the preparation will take at least six months," Poulsen said. He added that the question of the transfer can be discussed upon completion of the training.
Denmark and the Netherlands are members of the so-called "fighter jet initiative" aimed at providing advanced Western military aircraft, as well as the necessary training, to Ukraine's military.
Ukraine has received 14 MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and 13 from Slovakiabut has been pushing for more advanced aircraft. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has previously said that it requires at least 48 F-16 fighter jets to liberate territory from Russia.
During a press conference in late May, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands was "seriously considering" giving F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Jet transfer is part of the agenda at the ongoing 13th Ramstein-format summit in Brussels. Ukraine's leaders hope that the unofficial "fighter jet coalition" can be formalized as "Ukraine's Sky Shield" at the meeting.
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.
Martin Fornusek
