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."
The flag of Abkhazia, a Russian-occupied region of Georgia, is seen in the gallery of flags of the participating countries in the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024 (SPIEF 2024). (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Georgia's Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia lost all electricity supply due to the shutdown of the only power station supplying energy to the region, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Dec. 11, citing an Abkhaz energy company.
The Enguri hydroelectric power station, partially located in Abkhazia, stopped working on Dec. 11 due to critically low water levels in a nearby reservoir.
The region has recently faced energy shortages aggravated by a growing spat with its Russian patrons. Moscow has cut almost all funding, including money crucial for the energy sector, after Abkhazia's local council voted against a controversial investment agreement with Russia.
The full-blown energy crisis came even though the Abkhaz authorities appealed to Russia for assistance on Dec. 6.
Russia has occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia after a war with Tbilisi in 2008, backing local breakaway leadership. Both regions are internationally recognized as Georgia's sovereign soil.
Tensions arose between Moscow and Abkhazia in November following protests against a law that would permit Russians to purchase property in Abkhazia. The demonstrations culminated in the resignation of the region's head, Aslan Bzhania, and the local council voting down the law on Dec. 3.
Three days later, the Abkhaz authorities announced that nearly all Russian funding had ceased, save for pension payments.
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.
Katie Marie Davies
