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.
Roshen confectionery company owns a large chain of stores around Ukraine. (roshenstores.com)
Confectionery companies belonging to the family of former President Petro Poroshenko have been fined Hr 283.6 million ($10.4 million) by the Anti-Monopoly Committee (AMCU) for alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Poroshenko used to be a long-time owner of this group of confectionary companies known under the brand Roshen. He transferred the ownership to his elder son Oleksiy Poroshenko in 2019.
In a Dec. 21 statement, the committee said that the companies, Interstarch Ukraine, Dniprovsky Starch and Syrup Integrated Plant, and Intercorn, tampered with the prices of corn and glucose syrups on the market.
The enterprisers were accused of unjustified price hikes on syrups in April-June 2018, February-March 2019 and October 2020. The companies also set different prices for different buyers without a good reason, the committee stated.
In response, the companies said that the regulator's conclusions are "unreasonable and unfounded." They consider this move to be "political prosecution" of Poroshenko.
A day earlier Poroshenko was charged with high treason in a case regarding the organization of coal supplies to Ukraine’s state-owned enterprises from Russian-occupied areas in the Donbas in 2014-2015. Poroshenko called the charges politically motivated.
According to the Anti-Monopoly Committee, the companies together dominate the syrup market, controlling 65.5% of it in 2018, a whopping 93.9% in 2019 and 79.8% in 2020. They’re also the only producers of cornstarch in Ukraine, controlling 74.3% of the market in 2018 and 96.79% in 2019. Importers were their only competitors in the past several years.
“The group had market power, which came through in its ability to set its own terms for sales on the domestic market, maintain a non-transparent, systemless pricing policy with its counterparties, and pursue policies to maintain its monopoly position,” the committee stated.
At times, Roshen allegedly set arbitrary prices for individual buyers -- one buyer was given low prices to prevent them from switching suppliers, according to the regulator.
Roshen was also accused of being behind initiatives to effect the 2019 ban on the import of syrup and starch products from Russia.
The group of companies related to Roshen is a vertically integrated business with enterprises for every part of the product's production cycle, from growing corn to making candy.
Igor is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously covered conflict in the Middle East, investigated corruption in Ukraine and man-made environmental damage in Southeast Asia. He has a Master’s in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and was published in the Kyiv Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy.
