The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Ukrainian servicemen supervise an M142 HIMARS launching a rocket in the Bakhmut direction in Donetsk Oblast on May 18, 2023. (Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The U.S. State Department approved on May 10 an emergency sale of three HIMARS rocket systems and associated equipment to Ukraine worth $30 million, with Germany providing the funding.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on May 9 that Berlin would purchase three of these systems and hand them to Kyiv.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinked provided justification that "an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Ukraine of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the congressional review requirements."
The equipment will come from the U.S. Army's stocks.
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War Notes
"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by enhancing Ukraine's ability to defend itself and respond to continued Russian aggression," a statement by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency read.
The weapons system – its full name is M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System – is a multiple rocket launcher system mounted to a 6x6 FMTV truck chassis, providing devastating firepower launched from a highly mobile platform.
Its rockets are radar-guided, with a range of around 70 kilometers (over 40 miles). When combined with high mobility, it is the ideal "shoot and scoot" system to target enemy weapons dumps and command posts.
The most recent U.S. defense aid package for Ukraine worth around $400 million contained additional HIMARS systems and ammunition, along with other supplies.
Martin Fornusek
