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 warplane belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force conducts an operation flight to target trenches of Russian forces through Donetsk Oblast on May 9, 2023. Illustrative purposes only. (Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces launched 12 attacks on concentrated groups of Russian troops and equipment using air forces and four more using missiles over the past day, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its morning report on Nov. 9.
Ukraine also launched three air strikes against Russian air defense systems, and Ukrainian missile troops targeted eight Russian artillery systems, three ammunition depots, a radar station, three electronic warfare stations, and one unspecified military target, according to the report.
The General Staff recorded 78 skirmishes with Russian forces over the past day, as well as two Russian missile strikes, 48 air strikes, and 79 attacks by multiple-launch rocket systems, which targeted both military and civilian targets.
Over 100 Ukrainian settlements were targeted by Russian artillery, according to the General Staff.
Russian forces fired a Kh-31 and a Kh-59 air-launched missiles, the latter of which was shot down, the military said. Governor Serhii Lysakreported that the missile was downed over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Moscow's troops reportedly launched heavy attacks in the Bakhmut direction. Ukrainian defenders repelled around 30 attacks in this sector, the General Staff reported.
Some 10 Russian attacks were reportedly fought off near Avdiivka, 20 around Marinka, and six in the Kupiansk direction.
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.
Francis Farrell
