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.
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.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink in Kyiv on Jan. 12, 2024. (Yevhen Kotenko/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The U.S. signed an agreement to provide Ukraine with $138 million in critical air defense modernization, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on April 11.
"This funding will help keep Ukraine’s air defenses operating in the face of Russia’s relentless attacks on the energy grid and the Ukrainian people," Brink wrote on X.
Ukraine faces an ongoing ammunition shortage, with the country in dire need of shells and missiles while Russian forces have intensified their attacks during the spring, mainly targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.
Delays in U.S. assistance of roughly $60 billion have already had a direct impact on the battlefield, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.
Top Republican officials reportedly said that a vote on the aid for Ukraine in Congress might be still weeks away despite Johnson's assertion on April 1 that it would be held "right after Easter."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 7 that "Ukraine will lose the war" if the U.S. Congress fails to approve military aid to Kyiv.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Nate Ostiller
