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."
Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, U.K on June 22, 2023. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted to dismiss Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksandr Kubrakov on May 9.
There were no lawmakers who voted against the motion to dismiss Kubrakov. In total, 272 MPs voted in support of his dismissal, 13 MPs abstained, and 35 were not present at the vote.
Kubrakov became Infrastructure Minister in May 2021. He had been elected an MP in the 2019 parliamentary elections as part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party.
Kubrakov reacted on Facebook that prior to the vote, he had not been invited to meet with the head of the party or with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to discuss the decision.
"I am always ready for an open dialogue and a detailed report on the work of the Ministry in all areas under my responsibility," Kubrakov said
"From the first days of the war, military logistics, reconstruction of housing and municipal infrastructure were added to our responsibilities in the field of transport and mail," and the ministry "managed to launch a number of important initiatives and projects for the state."
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
