“Ukrainian President Zelensky negotiates new arms deliveries and discusses investment fund with BlackRock”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky negotiated new arms deliveries during his visits to Helsinki and The Hague, BNR reported.

In his traditional address, the president did not give more details, but also commented that his talks with partners contributed to greater progress regarding Ukraine’s future membership in NATO and the EU, as well as regarding Russia’s responsibility for aggression.

In Brussels, it became clear that the ammunition that the European Union will supply to Ukraine in the next 12 months will be manufactured in the EU and Norway, but the supply chain may also include companies outside Europe. This is stated in the final decision of the European Council on how 1 billion euros from the European Peace Fund will be spent. President Rumen Radev refused to include Bulgaria in the general European procurement of shells for Ukraine.

The daily analysis of the situation in Ukraine by the Institute for the Study of War in Washington said that Moscow had probably given up on the capture of Bakhmut. Instead, it concentrated on preparing to defend against an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. After the head of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin announced the withdrawal from Bakhmut on May 10, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov declared readiness for his Akhmat special forces fighters to occupy the positions there.

In anticipation of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the Russian authorities in the occupied part of Zaporozhye ordered the evacuation of 18 nearby villages. On the second day, dozens of people also left the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson near the front line of the Dnieper River. A two-and-a-half-day curfew has been declared there since last night, which is believed to be in connection with the upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed with the management of the American asset management company BlackRock the details of the creation of an investment fund for the recovery of the country. The main goal of the fund is to attract private and public capital for large-scale business projects in the country after the end of active hostilities.