Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
A charred vehicle sits near an attack site following a mass Russian drone strike against the city of Kharkiv on March 29, 2025. (Oleh Syniehubov / Telegram)
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A Russian drone attack killed two civilians and injured at least 25 people late on March 29, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
A 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were killed in the attack, Syniehubovsaid. At least 25 other people were injured, including five children between the ages of 5 and 17.
A 15-year-old girl and two other injured children were hospitalized, he said. The 15-year-old is in serious condition.
Several explosions were heard throughout the city late in the evening on March 29.
Russian drone strikes damaged a shopping center, several residential buildings, a medical facility, and an office building, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terehov reported. Several fires also broke out across the city.
Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine's northeast is a regular target of Russian missile, drone, and glide bomb attacks from across the border or Russian-occupied territories. Russia has regularly targeted civilian infrastructure in aerial attacks against Ukraine since the onset of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Kateryna Denisova
