"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.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi is seen during official celebrations for Ukrainian Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Illustrative purposes only. (Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
Major Hennadii Chastiakov, an assistant of Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was killed by an explosive device in his home, Zaluzhnyi announced on Nov. 6.
The officer was killed on his birthday by explosives present in one of the gifts, Ukraine's top general wrote on his Telegram channel.
The reasons and circumstances of the officer's death are to be established in a pre-trial investigation, he added.
The media reported earlier that the 39-year-old Zaluzhnyi's assistant was killed in an explosion at his home in Chaiky, Kyiv Oblast. The officer's 13-year-old son was seriously injured in the explosion and is in medical care, according to authorities.
Chastiakov's wife reportedly said that her husband was killed by a grenade contained in a gift bag with alcohol he brought home, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing its sources in law enforcement.
"From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Hennadii was a reliable shoulder for me, completely devoting his life to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the fight against Russian aggression," Zaluzhnyi said in his condolences.
The officer is survived by his wife and four children.
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.
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