"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. ichael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"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.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power.”
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
Photo for illustartive purposes. A vendor sells eggs at the famous Privoz market in the city of Odesa, Ukraine, on 24 March 2022. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Bulgaria will request the suspension of egg imports from Ukraine at a meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on Sept. 23, Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Georgi Takhov said on Sept. 19.
The statement comes as a sign of persisting disputes between Ukraine and eastern EU members over agricultural trade.
The quarrels boiled over into border blockades on the Ukrainian-Polish border in late 2023 and early 2024, import bans on Ukrainian commodities like corn and wheat, and farmers' protests in Poland, Bulgaria, and elsewhere.
According to Takhov, Bulgarian producers are facing difficulties due to the growth of imports, which, in their opinion, hinders competition in the domestic market, Bulgarian 24 Chasa news outlet reported.
The Bulgarian minister did not rule out the introduction of "protective measures" to limit trade with Ukraine.
"When the import of a certain type of product or commodity — vegetables, meat, eggs — reaches certain limits that the European Commission has outlined in advance, then we can activate the mechanism of banning their import. We are currently doing this in terms of eggs," Takhov said.
The updated rules of duty-free and quota-free trade in agricultural products between Ukraine and the EU came into force on June 6.
The new free-trade scheme incorporates an automatic safeguard mechanism designed to protect specific domestic sectors deemed 'sensitive'—including eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, maize, hulled grains, and honey—from a surge in imports due to the lifting of quotas and tariffs.
This allows the European Commission to activate the so-called emergency brake and reintroduce tariff-rate quotas if imports of these commodities surpass the average quantities imported between July 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2023.
Ukrainian agricultural imports into the EU surged in 2022 after the outbreak of the full-scale war. The European bloc lifted tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the invasion's start to alleviate the country's economy amid Russian attacks and the blockade of the Black Sea trade routes.
Andrea Januta
