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.
A wounded woman waves while speaking on the phone as rescuers and volunteers work to rescue people from under rubble after Russian missile strike to pizzeria in Kramatorsk on June 27, 2023. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on her official Telegram channel on July 15 that after Russia’s all-out invasion, Ukrainian society rapidly mastered how to disclose information during the war and “learned very well” to distinguish Russian information attacks.
“We are the pioneers of a completely new quality of information warfare,” Maliar said. “Nowhere in textbooks or during training is it told how to prepare for this.”
According to her, currently the ministry observes only occasional leaks of sensitive information from mobilized servicemen or cases when civilians help military brigades in exchange for information and “even in exchange for interviews with certain media.”
Sometimes, people try to become popular in social media by “posting anything and making public capital on a military topic.”
“The Ministry of Defense, together with the Armed Forces, is solving this problem,” Maliar added.
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Francis Farrell
