The Russian invasion

Negotiations
Ukraine has asked Turkey to host a meeting with Putin

Ukraine has asked Turkey to host a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The aim is to resume peace talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said, according to Reuters.

Sybiha said that Ukraine had asked Turkey specifically, but that the country was open to talks in other places – besides Moscow or Belarus.

Turkey has previously hosted talks between Ukraine and Russia, most recently in May last year.

It is not clear how Ankara has responded to the request. Russia has not commented.
 

The world's response
EU: Ukraine to receive first money in May or June

The EU aims to provide Ukraine with the first tranche of the 90 billion euro loan in late May or early June, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said, according to European Pravda.

Ukraine and the EU are now in the process of signing an agreement with reforms that Kyiv is committed to implementing in order to receive the loan, he adds.

On Tuesday, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine has repaired the Druzhba oil pipeline and is ready to start transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia again, which Hungary has demanded in order to approve the loan.

On Wednesday, the issue of the loan will be raised during the regular ambassadorial meeting in Brussels, and it is hoped that Hungary will formally lift its veto.

– I expect a positive decision on the 90 billion loan within the next 24 hours, said the Union's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas after Tuesday's foreign ministers' meeting.

 Ukraine's defense lacks billions – regardless of EU loans

Ukraine's defense needs an additional 19.6 billion euros this year to maintain its defense against Russia. This is reported by the Kyiv Independent, which has received a calculation from the EU Commission.

The need is in addition to the 86.7 billion euros already pledged in aid to the country and the giant loan of a total of 90 billion euros that EU countries are expected to decide on today.

Russia's war against Ukraine is in its fifth year and Ukraine is heavily dependent on foreign aid to finance the military and keep state functions running. 

Zelenskyj: "The right signal under the current circumstances"

Volodymyr Zelenskyj welcomes the fact that EU member states have given the green light for a billion-euro loan to Ukraine. In a post on X, the president writes that the approval is "the right signal under the current circumstances".

"Russia must end the war. And the incentives for that can only arise when both the support for Ukraine and the pressure on Russia are sufficient."

The EU loan to Ukraine has been blocked by Hungary since February. But on Wednesday, outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lifted his veto after Ukraine repaired the war-damaged Druzbja oil pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary.

In addition to the billion-euro loan, the EU also approved a 20th package of sanctions against Russia.