Washington, D.C.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak discussed the Ukrainian formula for peace, preparations for the Global Peace Summit, prospects for NATO membership and the importance of supporting Ukraine with the Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs Mika Aaltola.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna says that the key opponents of Ukraine's invitation to NATO are the United States and Germany, which urge Kyiv not to spoil the "atmosphere" at the upcoming summit in Washington.

Vice Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna met with Admiral Robert Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, to discuss NATO's increased support for Ukraine in building military capabilities, increasing defense production, and preparing for the upcoming NATO Summit, which will discuss further assistance to Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that despite Washington's calls to limit strikes on russia's energy infrastructure, Kyiv is forced to fight with the resources it has.

Amid the massive shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, US Ambassador Bridget Brink called for a new aid package for Ukraine, citing that russian attacks violate international law and endanger civilians.

President Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine's priority defense needs, strengthening NATO's coordinating role in support of Ukraine, and expectations for the upcoming NATO Summit with Admiral Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, during his visit to Ukraine.

Washington supports the idea of issuing $50 billion worth of bonds for Ukraine using frozen russian assets to finance Ukraine's war effort.

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine needs more support, including ammunition, and it needs it now.

CERN decided to end its cooperation with Russian scientists by dismissing some researchers from joint projects, a move Russia condemned as "politicized, discriminatory and unacceptable" toward its scientists.

The US is negotiating with Niger to terminate a military agreement that allowed US troops to remain in the country, due to concerns over the recent military coup in Niger.

Ukraine is facing an acute shortage of ammunition, which threatens to make it unable to defend cities from Russian missile attacks by the end of the month.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized to U. S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken the need and urgency for continued U.S. and international support for Ukraine, including air defense and artillery munitions, warning that the lack of such support would undermine U.S. leadership and jeopardize U.S. national security.

Israel has approved a plan for a potential attack on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, keeping hope alive for a ceasefire and considering a Hamas proposal to release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The United States has no objection to other countries deploying their troops in Ukraine, as it is a sovereign decision of each country, but it does not plan to deploy its troops there.

The NATO Secretary General says that the upcoming NATO summit in Washington will be a "step up" for Ukraine, after discussing support for Ukraine with the Finnish President and preparations for the summit.

Latvian Prime Minister Ewika Silina supports the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces, provided that a consensus is reached among alliance partners.

The outcome of Russia's war against Ukraine will be decided in the spring and summer of this year, according to EU diplomat Josep Borrell, who called for continued assistance to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian occupiers.

China has criticized the US House of Representatives' decision to ban TikTok unless the network severes ties with its Chinese parent company, calling it suppression of foreign companies that contradicts the principles of fair competition.

Ukraine's Justice Minister Denys Malyuska expressed optimism that U. S. lawmakers from both parties would approve a bill to further support Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion.

The U. S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, six months to sell its U.S. assets or face a nationwide ban on the app, which is used by about 170 million Americans.

Poland has joined the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine from non-EU countries, but the Polish Foreign Minister refused to disclose the amount of money allocated for this purpose.

Without additional military assistance from the United States, Ukraine will face new challenges on the battlefield and will gradually lose more and more territory to Russia, according to senior U. S. intelligence officials.

The EU finance ministers unanimously supported the candidacy of Kristalina Georgieva for a second five-year term as head of the International Monetary Fund.

China is providing economic and security assistance to Russia amid its war in Ukraine, supporting the aggressor country's industrial base, and threatening to influence the 2024 US elections. There are also expectations of potential aggression against Taiwan by China.

The Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has issued a statement rejecting Pope Francis' proposal to raise the white flag and negotiate with Russia, emphasizing that surrender means death for Ukrainians in view of Russia's genocidal intentions to destroy Ukrainian identity.

Japan and the United States are discussing cooperation to provide Ukraine with more ammunition, potentially easing Tokyo's restrictions on military exports and helping to expand the U. S. arsenal of weapons for Ukraine.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin discussed with his American counterparts cooperation in investigating war crimes, strengthening the fight against corruption, and blocking the supply of Western technology used to manufacture weapons to Russia.

Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO after depositing its instrument of accession, marking the end of its longstanding policy of non-alignment in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden will officially join NATO today after submitting its application to the US government.

During his visit to Washington, D. C., German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on the United States to provide Ukraine with more financial assistance.