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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enters the Verkhovna Rada hall on July 16, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
After vetoing a controversial bill on asset declarations, President Volodymyr Zelensky released his proposed amendments that would reinstate open access to the registered assets of state and local government officials.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law no. 9534 on the restoration of electronic declarations for public officials on Sept. 5, though after inserting key amendments that would allow for the electronic declarations of assets to remain private for the next year. The system for registering assets for public officials was suspended at the start of the full-scale invasion.
President Zelensky has proposed that the Verkhovna Rada provides open access to the declarations, though certain categories of government employees may be excluded. Members of the State Border Service of Ukraine, State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, staff at the Department of State Security, and members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations would not have registered assets open to the public.
In addition, declarations filed by special-purpose police participating in combat during martial law, the injured, prisoners of war, and individuals in temporarily occupied territories will not be made public.
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) would remove from public access declarations from people in these categories on the basis of a written submission from the head of the government agency where the individual who filed works or serves.
Under Zelensky’s proposals, these exceptions would not apply to military personnel holding or seconded to positions as ministers and deputy ministers, or as heads and deputy heads of central and local executive bodies. Other positions in government ministries and bodies of the justice system, as well as members or secondees at military medical boards, military enlistment offices (except for rank and file members), and those working in military defense procurement would not be eligible for the exceptions.
President Zelensky has also proposed that the NACP should be responsible for providing constant access to the Unified State Register of Declarations on a temporary basis while martial law remains in effect.
Olena Halushka
