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.
A soldier in camouflage and with a machine gun on guard duty during preparations for the demolition of the monument to Russian empress Catherine II in Odesa on Dec. 28, 2022. (Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Odesa City Council's historical and toponymic commission has proposed renaming three streets and one square in the historic center named after Russian historical figures, the council announced on April 4.
The commission recommended that Catherine Square and Catherine Street, named after Russian Empress Catherine II, should be renamed. The commission proposed European Square and European Street as the new names.
The statue of Catherine II that stood in the middle of the square was dismantled in December 2022 following a vote by Odesa residents.
Shortly after coming to power, Catherine II banned teaching in the Ukrainian language at the most prominent center of Ukrainian culture, the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
The Empress later made the Russian language compulsory for all schools, ordered churches to conduct services only in Russian, and banned the publishing of books in Ukrainian.
The commission also proposed that Zhukovsky Street, named after the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky, should be renamed Lesia Ukrainka Street, after the Ukrainian poet.
The commission recommended that Bunin Street, named after the Russian writer Ivan Bunin, be given back its old name, Politseyska Street, after a nearby police station.
Ukraine's parliament outlawed most Soviet and communist symbols, street names, and monuments as part of a decommunization process in 2015.
Many cities, which had received new names under the Soviet authorities, were renamed to reflect their Ukrainian identity.
President Volodymyr Zelensky then signed a law in April 2023 that banned naming geographic sites in Ukraine after Russian figures or historical events in response to the Russian invasion.
Kateryna Denisova
