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.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets D-Day veterans in Normandy, France, on June 6, 2024. (LCI screenshot/Twitter)
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with veterans at the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, on June 6, with one encounter prompting a standing ovation and a discussion about who the real hero is.
Zelensky was introduced to one elderly former U.S. serviceman by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As the veteran went to kiss his hand, the Ukrainian president instead embraced him.
"You are the savior of the people," the veteran told him in scenes broadcast by French TV channel LCI.
As the pair posed for a photograph, the encounter was broadcast on screens at the venue, prompting the crowd to give them a standing ovation.
"You're our hero," the veteran said.
"No, you are our hero," Zelensky insisted.
After more hand-shaking, the veteran said: "I pray for you."
In a speech earlier in the day, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed support for Ukraine in its fight against a "tyrant bent on domination."
Speaking in front of 180 World War II veterans, Biden linked the struggle against the fascism of Nazi Germany with that of Kyiv's against Russia.
"We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago; they never fade," he said, adding: "Aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force — these are perennial. The struggle between dictatorship and freedom is unending."
According to Politico, France initially invited a representative from Russia to take part in the commemoration due to the Soviet Union's role in the war against Nazi Germany, but this invitation was revoked after the U.S., U.K., and "two other World War II allies expressed concerns."
Chris York
