Ukrainian bakery chain Lviv Croissants has launched its second location in Washington State, US, the company announced on Instagram.
The new location is in Westfield Southcenter Mall, one of the largest shopping centers in the region and a key traffic hub. The space was prepared for opening for about a year.
“A lot of teamwork went into this opening. We prepared the space for almost a year — carefully, responsibly, and without rushing. And now we can say: it was worth it. We brought to Tacoma what we love most: Lviv hospitality and flavors that are easy to fall in love with,” the company said, adding that the Ukrainian atmosphere of Lviv Croissants is now even closer to Seattle.
The assortment includes traditional croissants with various fillings, as well as beverages to make snacks for an active day convenient and delicious.
As reported, the chain entered the Norwegian market in November.
According to the company’s website, the brand entered the European market in September 2022. Currently, there are 178 establishments throughout Ukraine, 11 in Poland, and one each in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
In April 2025, the Lviv Croissants chain opened its first outlet in South Korea. Korean franchisees invested about $250,000 in the bakery, and the total investment in the opening was about $500,000.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Union leaders at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on August 18.
“On August 18, 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Washington, D.C. The Secretary General will participate in a meeting hosted by President Donald J. Trump with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and other European leaders,” the alliance’s headquarters said on Sunday.
The Italian national news agency ANSA reports that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be in Washington on Monday to attend a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House “together with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen, and other European leaders.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have confirmed their participation in the meeting.
“Tomorrow I am traveling to Washington with President Zelensky and other European heads of state and government. We will exchange views with US President Trump on peace efforts, security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine,” Merz wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
“Finnish President Alexander Stubb will participate in a meeting on peace in Ukraine on Monday, August 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C., USA,” the Office of the President of Finland announced.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to discuss all details regarding the end of the war with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, August 18.
German Chancellor Jens Plötner’s security adviser, Jens Plötner, left unannounced for Washington on Friday for talks.
Together with his British counterpart Jonathan Powell and French President Emmanuel Bonn’s security adviser, they will meet with Mike Waltz, the US National Security Adviser, at the White House on Friday, Die Welt reports, citing diplomatic sources.
“The diplomatic lightning trip, which was organized at short notice, comes at a critical moment in the negotiations on a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the newspaper reports.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington “strongly urges” the Russian government to resume its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and “completely comply with the agreements.”
Blinken’s statement, released by the State Department, dismisses that the failure to implement the agreement will have a direct impact on low- and middle-income countries and world food prices, as well as exacerbate humanitarian crises and food security.
Washington “urges all parties to continue this critical life-saving initiative.”
As reported, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the withdrawal of Moscow from the agreements on the export of grain from the ports of Ukraine. They claim that allegedly Ukraine, with the participation of British specialists, carried out an attack “against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in ensuring the security of the” grain corridor “.
On July 22, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN signed an agreement in Istanbul on the creation of a sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny for a period of 120 days.
Washington hopes that China will exert the necessary influence on the Russian Federation in connection with the events in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
“We believe China in particular has a responsibility to use its influence with President Putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support,” he said.
At the same time, Blinken recalled that the events in Ukraine will be one of the topics of a telephone conversation scheduled for Friday between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“President Biden will be speaking to President Xi tomorrow and will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs,” Blinken said.
Later, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the conversation between Biden and Xi Jinping would clarify China’s attitude towards the situation in Ukraine.
“This is an opportunity for President Biden to assess where President Xi stands,” she said.
Washington is ready to welcome any option to de-escalate tensions on the border between Russia and Ukraine, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price has said at a briefing.
“De-escalation can take many forms. We would welcome any of it,” Price said, answering a question in what form Washington imagines the de-escalation of tensions.
In particular, according to him, the start of de-escalation could be considered both the withdrawal of troops from the border with Ukraine and the change in Russian rhetoric on the Ukrainian topic.
