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."
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
A Ukrainian carpenter rebuildś the roof of a building wrecked by shrapnel three days after five Russian missiles struck a grain storage facility in the village of Pavlivka, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, on July 24, 2023. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private investment arm of the World Bank, gathered almost $1 billion to rebuild Ukraine's private sector, Reuters reported on Jan. 11, citing IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop.
Additional funds for Ukraine's reconstruction are now more crucial than ever as money from the U.S. and the EU, the two major donors, remains stalled by internal political disputes.
According to the World Bank's estimate, Kyiv will need over $400 billion for full recovery in the coming years.
The funding is part of a $2-billion package earmarked for Ukraine and announced by the IFC in December 2023.
Around $620 million of the sum comes from the IFC's own balance sheet and $360 million from external sources, Diop said.
The IFC's director nevertheless stressed the need "to monitor how the political situation evolves," adding that there are some concerns.
The "main challenge" in mobilizing additional funds lies in providing guarantees to external investors and convincing them to deploy their resources, Diop added.
As an alternative source of funds for reconstruction efforts, Ukraine is also eyeing over $300 billion in Russian assets frozen on Western accounts.
While the EU has been discussing ways to funnel profits generated by these funds to Ukraine, media reports indicate that the White House favors directly seizing some of these funds for Kyiv's benefit.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba commented earlier this week that the full amount of Russian assets could cover over 80% of recovery costs.
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.
Dominic Culverwell
