Ukraine's intel chief explains plans for Istanbul talks, EU approves sanctions against Russia - Wednesday brief
RBC-Ukraine collage
The chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said that he supports direct high-level talks between Ukraine and Russia. Meanwhile, the European Union has agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia.
Read more about what happened on Wednesday, May 14.
Zelenskyy ready for Istanbul talks as Intelligence Chief explains Ukraine's talks goals
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready for direct negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Türkiye. Ukraine needs a ceasefire to save human lives, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
Budanov believes that the position of the Ukrainian President, who declared his readiness to immediately meet with the Russian leader to personally discuss a possible truce, is absolutely correct.
EU confirms approval of 17th package of sanctions against Russia
The European Union has approved the 17th package of sanctions against Russia. The list of restrictions includes 189 more vessels of Moscow's shadow fleet.
"I welcome the agreement on our 17th sanctions package against Russia. We are further restricting access to battlefield technology. And we have listed an additional 189 shadow fleet vessels to target Russia's energy exports," the European Commission President said.
UK intel shows scale of destruction at Russian ammunition depot
Explosions at the Russian GRAU ammunition depot on April 22 became the largest loss of ammunition since the beginning of the war. Over 1 sq. km of territory was damaged, and strategic stockpiles were destroyed.
Special tribunal for Russia becomes reality as Council of Europe adopts decision
The Council of Europe has taken an important step toward holding Russia's leadership accountable — it supported the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression.
The decision was adopted in Luxembourg during a meeting of the Committee of Ministers.
Zelenskyy was ready to cancel Istanbul talks if Putin didn’t show – WP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready to cancel peace talks in Istanbul if Russian leader Vladimir Putin failed to attend. However, Western partners persuaded the Ukrainian President not to rule out the negotiations.
According to The Washington Post, both Europe and the United States support potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Türkiye.
