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."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a bilateral meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Canadian Parliament on Sept. 22 after his talks with the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In his welcoming words at the House of Commons, Trudeau announced further aid for Ukraine, including 650 million Canadian dollars ($480 million) for 50 armored vehicles and training on F-16 fighter jets.
The funds will be used over the period of three years, and the vehicles, including medical evacuation vehicles, will be built in Canada.
Trudeau praised Zelensky and Ukraine for their "fierce" resistance against Russian aggression, adding that the Ukrainian people are "holding the rule-based order in the balance."
When addressing the parliament, Zelensky said Russia is committing genocide against the Ukrainian people.
"When we call on the world to help us, it is not just an ordinary conflict, it is about saving the lives of millions of people," Zelensky said, reminding the human loss and destruction in Mariupol, Bakhmut, Volnovakha, and other Ukrainian cities.
The president said that throughout history, Canada has always stood on the "side of freedom and justice."
"Justice is not an empty word in Canada... you are always on the right side of history."
Zelensky stressed that Ottawa's support, including air defense, armored vehicles, artillery shells, and demining equipment, is saving thousands of Ukrainian lives.
He also thanked Canada for helping Ukraine to reduce its dependency on Russian nuclear fuel.
Zelensky said that during their earlier meeting today, he and Trudeau discussed a Canadian initiative in the Group of Seven (G7) to confiscate Russian assets and use them for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Western countries have frozen around $300 billion of Russia's Central Bank assets since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv and its partners have been seeking ways to use them to fund Ukraine's recovery.
Zelensky arrived in Ottawa late on Sept. 21 for his first official visit to Canada since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The trip followed his earlier visit to New York where Zelensky addressed the U.N. General Assembly and the Security Council. The president then headed to Washington, D.C., where he held talks with members of the U.S. Congress, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and President Joe Biden.
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.
Asami Terajima
