"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Illustrative image: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden meet in the Oval Office of the White House on Dec. 12, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced an aid package for Ukraine worth $225 million during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Paris on June 7, CNN's correspondent Natasha Bertrand reported.
Zelensky thanked Biden for the newly pledged assistance during the talks, which were also attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
"Since (April), including today, I've announced six packages of significant funding. Today I'm also signing an additional package for $225 million to help you reconstruct the electric grid," Biden said.
Biden did not specify how much of the package would be allocated to non-military needs, as the U.S. Defense Department also unveiled a list of military support, including HAWK air defenses, 155 mm howitzers, 81 mm mortars, artillery shells, HIMARS ammunition, Stinger missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank launchers, armored vehicles, patrol boats, and other aid as part of the $225 million package.
The U.S. president apologized to Zelensky for the delays in the $61 billion U.S. foreign aid package, which was stalled in Congress for six months due to opposition from parts of the Republican Party.
"You know, you haven't bowed down, you haven't yielded at all, you continue to fight in a way that is just remarkable, is just remarkable—and we’re not going to walk away from you," Biden told Zelensky.
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.
Chris York
