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.
The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
A house damaged by the debris of a Russian Kh-59 missile launched at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight on Oct. 30, 2023. (Serhii Lysak/Telegram)
Russian forces launched 12 Shahed-type kamikaze drones and two Kh-59 guided missiles at Ukraine overnight on Oct. 30, the Air Force wrote.
Ukraine’s air defenses reportedly shot down all of the drones and missiles over Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk and Khmelnytskyi oblasts.
The missiles were launched from Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and the drones were flying from Russia's port city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Krasnodar Krai, according to the Air Force.
In southern Mykolaiv Oblast, air defenses destroyed five Shahed–131/136 drones, Governor Vitalii Kim said on Telegram.
The debris from one of the downed drones caused a fire at a farm in the Bashtanka district, according to Kim. No casualties were reported.
The Kh-59 missiles were downed over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, with their remains falling in the Dnipro district, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.
A five-story building, a private residence, and a car were damaged, but there were no casualties, Lysak said.
There were no damages to civilian infrastructure and casualties in Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad oblasts, according to the regional authorities. They didn’t specify how many aerial targets were downed over the regions.
Authorities in Kherson, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts haven’t reported on the attack and its consequences in their regions.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
