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."
Illustrative purposes only: Remains of a Shahed 136/131 drone at an exhibition showing remains of missiles and drones that Russia used to attack Kyiv on May 12, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Oleksii Samsonov /Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 35 of the 39 Shahed-type drones that Russia launched overnight, the Air Force reported on March 10.
The drones were launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.
Russian forces also launched four S-300 surface-to-air guided missiles. No information was provided by the Air Force as to the outcome of the missile launches.
The drones were intercepted over Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Odesa, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Zhytomyr oblasts.
Mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force were involved in repelling the air attacks.
Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. Overnight on March 9, Ukraine’s air defense downed 12 of 15 Russian drone launched at Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have continuously expected Russian attacks over the course of the winter, with Moscow focusing on Ukraine'senergy infrastructure and other civilian sites.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Anastasiia Lapatina
