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."
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov (right) before the start of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters on the first day of a North Atlantic Council meeting on June 15, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo credit: Omar Havana/Getty Images)
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed on June 15 that a number of countries have pledged new military aid packages to Ukraine at the 13th Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in Brussels.
According to Austin, these countries include the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Norway, and Italy.
Canada is to deliver its "largest tranche of military aid" to Ukraine, committing 500 million Canadian dollars ($371 million) of defense funding, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said.
In terms of equipment, Ottawa will provide 10,000 105mm artillery rounds and 288 AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles, as well as small arms ammunition, maintenance assistance for Leopard 2 tanks, and training for Ukrainian soldiers, pilots, and technicians.
Anand informed that Ottawa prepared 200 Senator armored vehicles for Ukraine, out of which 116 have been delivered and 18 more will arrive in the coming days.
The governments of the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, and the Netherlands have pledged to provide hundreds of air defense missiles, along with other pieces of necessary air defense equipment.
Austin added that Denmark announced a separate military aid package of its own worth $2.6 billion to be delivered through 2024 without specifying its content.
In a Danish Defense Ministry press release from June 15, the government informed it wants to set aside as much as 21.9 billion Danish crowns ($3.2 billion) for its Ukraine Fund in the coming years.
Earlier today, Copenhagen announced that it will supply Ukraine with 10,500 artillery shells in joint efforts with Norway.
Italy has reportedly announced a new tranche of aid including "highly critical capabilities that meet Ukraine's most urgent needs to defend itself," while Norway and Germany have pledged multi-year aid packages.
The UDCG, comprising around 50 nations, meets regularly in the so-called Ramstein-format summits to coordinate support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
In his opening remarks for the ongoing 13th summit, Austin promised to deliver "urgent capabilities" Ukraine needs to defend against Russia.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
