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 serviceman patrols a destroyed residential area in the city of Sievierodonetsk on July 12, 2022, amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. Sievierodonetsk, 70 kilometers north of Kadiivka, Luhansk Oblast, was occupied by Russia on June 24. (Getty Images)
A fight that broke out between soldiers of the Russian army and the infamous Wagner mercenary group escalated into a shootout in the occupied town of Stanytsia Luhanska in Russian-controlled Luhansk Oblast the General Staff reported on April 23 in its daily evening briefing.
According to the General Staff, there were casualties on both sides as a result of the clash.
“They (different Russian forces) are trying to shift responsibility for their own tactical miscalculations and losses onto each other,” the report reads.
Though no outside evidence has emerged to back up the claim of the shootout, Wagner forces have often found themselves at odds with the Russian Defense Ministry at a higher level, due to several reasons including the delivery of ammunition.
Luhansk Oblast was fully occupied by Russia in early July 2022 after the capture of Lysychansk, the last major city in the oblast that was under Ukrainian control.
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Alexander Khrebet
