U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"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.
Ukraine's Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak attends the "Ukraine Year 2024" forum in Kyiv on Feb. 25, 2024. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
Participants of Ukraine's global peace summit will seek to formulate a new joint peace plan that could based on President Volodymyr Zelensky's formula, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak told reporters at the summit on June 15.
The two-day summit brought together representatives of 101 nations and organizations organizations to the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland. Ukraine hopes the summit will address several key issues, such as energy security, the exchange of captives, the return of deported children, global food security, and other topics.
"Today and tomorrow, world leaders will discuss the principles of the future joint plan, which we would like to base on the formula," Yermak said on the sidelines of the summit in Switzerland, adding that Ukraine is also "open to all opinions" from other countries.
Zelensky's 10-point peace formula includes Russia's full withdrawal from Ukraine and prosecution of war crimes, among other steps.
"We are looking at the possibility of presenting this plan to representatives of Russia," which can happen during a second summit, Yermak noted.
The Presidential Office's head rejected a suggestion by a journalist that Zelensky's formula was drafted during a time more favorable to Ukraine than now, pointing out recent Russian losses in the Black Fleet and Kyiv's ability to reopen the sea corridor.
"No compromise with independence, no compromise with sovereignty and territorial integrity. But we are very clear about our philosophy of the peace formula and this procedure today," Yermak said.
Russia was not invited to the peace summit, but the Swiss hosts said it would have to take part in the process "sooner or later."
Speaking one day ahead of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out his own conditions for peace talks, namely Ukraine's full withdrawal from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, including territories currently held by Ukraine.
Zelensky rejected these conditions, comparing them to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938-1939.
Yermak said that there will be no other "Minsk agreements and no Budapest," referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and 2014-2015 Minsk agreements.
"Our position is absolutely clear: a joint plan of all civilized and responsible countries... that can be handed over to a Russian representative at the second summit."
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.
Nate Ostiller
