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.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Ukraine's Presidential Office)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said at a news conference on May 28 that they had signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement.
Zelensky arrived in Portugal on May 28 after visits to Brussels and Madrid, where he signed bilateral security agreements with the two nations' leaders.
Under the agreement, Portugal will allocate at least 126 million euros ($137 million) in military aid for Ukraine in 2024.
The document also says that Lisbon confirms its participation in the F-16 and naval capabilities coalitions, as well as programs for artillery ammunition procurement, mine clearance, and maritime security.
The two parties agreed to cooperate in the defense industry, intelligence, cyber security, and countering disinformation.
This is Zelensky's first visit to Portugal since he took office in 2019. Zelensky is also expected to meet Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza and Ukrainian refugees.
The trip had originally been scheduled for mid-May but, according to CNN Portugal, the change in plans was forced by the "serious internal situation in Ukraine at the moment."
Russia launched a new offensive on May 10 in northern Kharkiv Oblast. Moscow's forces had reportedly managed to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) into the region but had been halted by the first line of defense.
Kateryna Hodunova
