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.
Ukrainian soldiers conduct operation with BMP-3 military vehicle at training camp amid Russia-Ukraine war in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on May 11, 2023. (Vincenzo Circosta/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers have advanced two kilometers toward Bakhmut and haven't lost any positions in the area in the past week, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on May 12.
According to Maliar, Russian troops "failed to implement their plans and "suffered heavy losses of manpower" on the front line. "At the same time, the enemy gives false information about the lack of weapons, which probably aims to justify the real situation," the Ukrainian official added.
She likely referred to Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's recent rant directly blaming Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Staff head Valery Gerasimov for the fighters' deaths, saying that Wagner was being deprived of the ammunition to continue the assault on Bakhmut.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported in its May 12 morning update that Russian forces continued offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut.
Ukraine's latest advance in Bakhmut was first reported on May 10 by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's Land Forces, who said that Russian troops "could not resist the onslaught of the Ukrainian defenders and retreated to a distance of up to two kilometers."
Late on May 11, several Russian military bloggers reported that Ukraine had allegedly started the counteroffensive and gained some positions in Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut. Russian Defense Ministry denied such claims, saying "the general situation remains under control."
On the same day, Prigozhin accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of lying after he said in an interview that Ukraine needed more time to prepare for the counteroffensive. Prigozhin, the head of Russia's state-backed private mercenary group, said on his Telegram channel that Ukraine's counteroffensive was allegedly "in full swing."
Ukrainian military officials earlier warned, as cited by CNN, that the counterattacks around Bakhmut mentioned by Prigozhin are part of a "positional struggle" and not necessarily connected to a greater counteroffensive effort.
A senior U.S. military official and a top Western official have told CNN that Ukraine's Armed Forces began "shaping operations" ahead of the long-awaited counteroffensive. Shaping, a standard tactic developed before major joint operations, involves attacking targets such as weapons depots, command centers, armored vehicles, and artillery systems to prepare the battlefield for the advancing force.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Francis Farrell
