This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
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."
A Russian Air Forces officer poses for a photo at the Sukhoi SU-25 SM (NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) jet aircraft during the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon on July 21, 2021, outside of Moscow, Russia. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported destroying a Russian Su-25 jet, a Soviet-era close air support aircraft, on April 7.
The Su-25 aircraft was shot down near Marinka, a town some 30 kilometers from the city of Donetsk, occupied by Russia since 2014.
Marinka was largely destroyed as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with no civilians living in the town since November last year.
Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast is the site of the war’s fiercest fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces as Russia seeks to occupy the entire region.
Earlier on April 7, the General Staff said Russia had lost 306 airplanes since the beginning of its all-out war against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Oleg Sukhov
