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."
Ukrainian trucks sit blocked by Polish protesters near the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing point Yahodyn-Dorohusk on Nov. 25, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Amid conflicting reports that Polish protesters had blocked passenger buses from crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border, Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych said on March 11 that the consul in Lublin would visit the Dorohusk crossing to observe the situation firsthand.
Zvarych also said that the movement of passengers across the border should be able to continue without any unnecessary obstacles.
The protesters, led by Polish farmers, claim that the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products is of poor quality and undermines local businesses amid rising costs across Europe. They also oppose the EU's Green Deal policies.
Protesters began blocking border crossings with Ukraine in early February following a series of intermittent protests led by Polish truckers that began in November 2023.
Humanitarian aid and passenger vehicles have historically been exempt from the blockade, which Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, repeated on March 9.
Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said earlier on March 11 that "protesters and police are stopping buses going to and from Poland. Passengers are being held without any explanation."
Demchenko then said later in the day that the border service had not received any reports from the Polish side that protesters were preventing the passage of buses, but added that it "cannot be excluded that the passage of buses through these blockades may be difficult."
The Kyiv Independent also reported last month that some trucks carrying humanitarian and military aid were stuck in queues for days.
