"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.
Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna speaks with the Kyiv Independent in downtown Kyiv. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Ukraine is expecting a positive assessment by the European Commission on Kyiv's path toward EU membership, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with Reuters on Nov. 6.
The EU's executive body is expected to issue its evaluation of Ukraine's progress on Nov. 8, with several media outlets indicating earlier that the report should be positive.
Stefanishyna voiced hopes that the Commission will recommend EU leaders to open formal accession talks during a summit in December.
"I would say that the assessment would definitely be positive because we have been in permanent contact with the European Commission, discussing the steps and negotiating the steps we managed to implement," the senior official told Reuters.
As part of the accession process, Kyiv was presented with seven criteria it needs to fulfill in order to begin the membership talks.
"I think for the purposes of the assessment when it comes to the seven steps, everything which has been agreed has been implemented and done," she added.
In September, Stefanishyna said that Ukraine had already "fulfilled the EU recommendations on the necessary legislative work in the judicial and media spheres."
However, it would take years before the full scope of reforms is fully implemented, she said in August, noting that these efforts involve "fundamental transformations of the country."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her recent visit to Kyiv she was "impressed by the reforms Ukraine has made in the midst of a war."
"I am confident that you can complete the outstanding reforms very soon. If this happens, Ukraine can reach its ambitious goal," the EU top official said on the social media platform X.
Nevertheless, the Nov. 8 assessment may be accompanied by additional conditions pertaining to Ukraine's fight against corruption and national minority rights reforms, Reuters reported, citing official sources.
Several EU leaders, including Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, already indicated that the start of the talks may be given the green light in December.
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.
Dinara Khalilova
