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."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during joint press conference on the second day of the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Vilnius summit on July 12 that the provision of a long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) was discussed with the U.S. but no decision was made.
"There are such conversations, but there is no decision" on the issue of ATACMS yet, Zelensky said at a press conference.
"It is better not to raise the issue. Because there are expectations of the people, the military, everyone. And it seems to me that it is important to do it first, and then share information on how it happened," the president added.
Zelensky and Biden met for bilateral talks during the NATO summit in Lithuania's capital to discuss security support for Ukraine.
Biden's Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated earlier on July 12 that the two leaders will discuss the transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine. According to The New York Times, the White House is considering providing Ukraine with the much-coveted missiles.
Zelensky also emphasized that Ukraine will not make any compromises on NATO membership through by territorial concessions to Russia.
"We will not give up our territories and we will never trade for a frozen conflict. This will never happen. Our partners clearly know my position," the president said.
Zelensky said he does not believe that partners would try to push Ukraine into such a move.
Concerning Ukraine's future entry into NATO, the Ukrainian delegation tried to convince the allies that the conditions for joining would concern only security issues, but unsuccessfully, Zelensky revealed.
Nevertheless, Zelensky reiterated his conviction that Ukraine will enter the Alliance after the war.
"I believe that we will be in NATO as soon as the security situation is stabilized. And this means that at the moment when the war ends, Ukraine will definitely be invited to NATO and we will be in NATO."
At the summit, NATO adopted a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance, and dropped the need for the Membership Action Plan (MAP), but stopped short of a full invitation.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will be able to join once "allies agree, and conditions are met."
Before arriving at the summit, Zelensky openly criticized NATO's unclear signaling on Ukraine's bid, calling the lack of a time frame "unprecedented and absurd."
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.
Martin Fornusek
