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.
Then MP Illia Kyva (center) speaks at a rally in Kyiv on March 2, 2021. (Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Lychakivskyi District Court in Lviv sentenced Illia Kyva, a pro-Russian former MP, to 14 years in prison in absentia on treason and other related charges, the court reported on Nov. 13.
Kyva was tried in absentia because he fled Ukraine, the court said, and is hiding in Russia. As part of his sentence, Kyva's property was also ordered to be confiscated. The decision can still be appealed within 30 days.
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation said on Aug. 18 that Kyva "created an image of the current Ukrainian government as an enemy for the public."
"He actively stirred up anti-government sentiment in Ukrainian society and justified Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Kyva glorified and justified any Russian military actions and 'incited' the Ukrainian audience against patriotic compatriots, and the Russian audience against Ukrainians."
The charges against Kyva were announced in March 2022, shortly after the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In April 2022, Kyva wrote a post on Telegram saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin should use a "pre-emptive strike" on Ukraine, which was seen by some as a tacit encouragement to use nuclear weapons or other means of mass destruction.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Katie Marie Davies
