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)
Ukraine downed nine of the Х-101 and Х-555 cruise missiles and nine of the Shahed-type drones that Russia launched overnight on March 31.
Russia launched a total of 14 cruise missiles, 11 drones, an Iskander-M ballistic missile, and an X-59 guided missile at Ukraine, the Air Force said.
The report did not specify what happened to the drones and missiles that were not downed.
Overnight on March 31, Russian troops targeted Ukraine’s southern regions, damaging infrastructure in Odesa and Kherson oblasts, Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported earlier.
The strikes damaged energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast and an agricultural facility in Kherson Oblast.
According to the Air Force, Russian troops launched the drones from Russia's Saratov Oblast and missiles from the occupied Crimea. The guided missile was launched from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Air Force said.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Chris York
