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."
In this archival photo, Serhiy Shefir (L) walks next to Volodymyr Zelensky during Zelensky's presidential inauguration on May 20, 2019. The next day, Zelensky appointed Shefir, his long-time business partner, as his first aide. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed two more members of the Presidential Office and four advisors, it was announced on March 30, in a continuing reshuffle of his inner circle.
In decrees published online, Zelensky's First Aide Serhiy Shefir and Commissioner for Soldiers' Rights Alyona Verbytska were dismissed from their roles. No reasons were given.
Shefir is a long-time business partner and acquaintance of Zelensky, appointed as first aide immediately after the president took office in May 2019.
In September 2021, Shefir survived an assassination attempt when a gunman opened fire on his car near Kyiv.
Though the perpetrators were never identified, fingers were pointed at Russia, “shadowy oligarchs” and criminal groups working for Ukraine’s “foreign opponents.”
Before politics, Shefir worked in film and TV and was producer on “Servant of the People,” the 2015-2019 comedy series in which Zelensky played a high-school history teacher who is unexpectedly elected president.
Shefir largely disappeared from public view since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As well as the dismissals of Shefir and Verbytska, four others have been dismissed – Natalia Pushkaryova from the duties of president's commissioner for volunteers, and three non-staff advisors: lawmaker Mykhailo Radutsky, former deputy head of the Presidential Office Serhiy Trofimov, and economist Oleh Ustenko.
The president said back in February that a reset of Ukraine's leadership was necessary and could involve several personnel shakeups beyond the military.
On March 29, Zelensky dismissed Andrii Smirnov and Oleksii Dniprov from their posts as deputy heads of the Presidential Office.
The changes have been announced amid a wider personnel reshuffle, which also included the replacement of National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov by the chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, on March 26.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Nate Ostiller
