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 purpose. LNG Tanker Asya Energy sailing under the flag of Palau is moored off the coast of the Mediterranean port of Limassol, Cyprus, June 29, 2024. (Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The U.S. will continue to "tighten the screws" on the export of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to deprive Moscow of energy revenues, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 22, citing Jeffrey Pyatt, the assistant secretary of state for energy resources.
Washington slapped sanctions against Arctic LNG 2 in 2023 and started imposing restrictions on ships that began taking LNG from the plant this August.
Arctic LNG 2, owned by Russia's Novatek company, aims to produce almost 20 million metric tons of LNG per year to sell primarily to Asian markets, potentially generating billions of dollars in revenue.
Washington has not imposed sanctions on other Russian LNG plants, including Yamal and Portovaya, which continue to supply liquefied natural gas to Europe and Asia. If sanctioned, this can likely lead to a reduction in global LNG supplies and higher prices, Bloomberg reported.
According to Pyatt, the U.S. aims to reduce the revenues Russia receives from its oil and gas resources. He said that such a "policy is working," and the U.S. is closely monitoring where the sanctioned Russian cargoes are heading.
"You can be assured that the Biden administration is going to continue to tighten the screws against Russia’s LNG exports," the senior official added.
The Financial Times reported in July that Russia is likely expanding its "ghost fleet" of tankers, created primarily to avoid Western oil sanctions, to LNG exports as well.
Kateryna Hodunova
