Exciting news from Ukraine! President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that tomorrow a summit of European leaders will be held in Kiev.
“We are preparing for a meeting with the leaders of the coalition of the willing in Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a video conference at a military summit in Oslo. “We need this coalition to be strong enough to ensure security in line with our common vision. I am confident that Europe will benefit from this teamwork, which will help strengthen the entire existing security architecture. Tomorrow we will have the meetings,” Zelensky added.
Zelensky also stated that Ukraine is “ready” to engage in “all formats of negotiations” with Moscow to find a solution to the conflict sparked by the Russian invasion. “But for this to happen, Russia must show serious commitment to ending the war, starting with a complete and unconditional ceasefire,” the Ukrainian president continued in a message posted on social media.
“I believe we are making good progress” in the peace negotiations in Ukraine, said Donald Trump, asserting that “if we had not been involved, perhaps Russia would have taken everything.”
“Russia cannot expect to gain territories it has not yet conquered,” Vice President of the USA JD Vance stated in an interview on Fox News, explaining that the request for territories not yet controlled by Russian forces is part of “the elements included in the initial peace plan.”
In the interview, Vance reiterated statements made on Wednesday at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, where he said that Moscow is “asking for too much” and will likely have to make concessions. However, Vance explained that the high demands of the Kremlin make sense because Russia believes it is winning the war. “We knew the first Russian offer would be excessive, we knew they would ask for more than was reasonable to give, that’s often how negotiations work,” he stated. “But what concerns me is if we conclude that the Russians are not negotiating in good faith,” he added.
The phone call today between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went “very well,” according to a senior Ukrainian presidential official. The conversation, conducted in English, lasted about twenty minutes and focused on “diplomacy and the ceasefire” that Washington and Kiev are seeking to establish on the front lines against the Russian army. The two leaders also discussed the mineral agreement ratified by the Ukrainian parliament today.
EU allies of Kiev have approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders for “aggression crimes against Ukraine,” meeting today in Lviv on the same day Russia commemorates the end of World War II with a large military parade in Moscow. “We welcome the completion of technical work on the draft legal instruments necessary to establish, within the framework of the Council of Europe, a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” a joint statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.
The establishment of the special tribunal for aggression crimes signifies that no one should go unpunished for these crimes, not even the leaders who decided to send soldiers here to commit war crimes and atrocities, stated EU High Representative Kaja Kallas in Lviv. “It is a very important signal, and it is crucial that nations believing in the principles of the United Nations Charter join the tribunal,” she added.
The special tribunal for aggression crimes against Ukraine has received necessary political support from over 38 countries and the EU, explained Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset, emphasizing that the support “demonstrates unity and determination in ensuring a just and lasting peace” and that the tribunal “can help shape the future of Ukraine for generations to come.” The process of establishing the tribunal can begin after a formal invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expected during the annual session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on May 14 in Luxembourg. Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha is expected to deliver a letter to the Secretary-General of the pan-European institution in the coming hours to initiate the procedure. The Council of Europe also specified that “some countries supporting the idea of the special tribunal are still engaged in delicate diplomatic discussions,” and the list of states that will join will be announced when the essential legal documents for the establishment and operation of the tribunal are formally accepted.
Hungary has announced the expulsion of two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage, after the Ukrainian Security Service SBU declared the arrest of two alleged Hungarian spies. “Today we expelled two spies working undercover at the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest from Hungary,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated in a video posted on Facebook.
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