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."
Russian President Vladimir Putin (center L) and North Korean President Kim Jong Un (center R) visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur Oblast on Sept. 13, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
There had been at least 10 cases of Russia using North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine, said Jung Pak, the U.S. Senior Official for North Korea, as reported by the Voice of America (VoA) on March 18.
North Korea has been shaping up as Russia's leading weapons supplier, reportedly providing Moscow with extensive military packages, including ballistic missilesand over 3 million artillery shells.
Oleksandr Filchakov, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor's office, said on March 14 that Russia had used nearly 50 North Korean missiles to attack Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which is five times more than the numbers announced by Pak.
"This is, of course, concerning to us that we have a known proliferator in (North Korea) selling weapons to Russia, and to be able to conduct their unlawful brutal attack on Ukraine, killing Ukrainian people, destroying Ukraine infrastructure, and just destroying lives," Pak said.
Pak also announced that North Korea reportedly supplied Russia with at least 10,000 containers of weaponry, which is almost three thousand more compared to the numbers unveiled by South Korea's Defense Ministry in February.
According to Pak, North Korea is not doing it "for free" and could be learning from Russia's use of these weapons and ballistic missiles on the battlefield.
"There are almost certainly things that (North Korea) wants in return. And we're concerned about what might be going to the other side," Pak added.
One of the first cases of Russia using North Korean ballistic missiles was recorded on Dec. 30, 2023, during an attack on Zaporizhzhia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) wrote.
Later on, Russia's use of North Korean missiles was officially confirmed in the attack on Kharkivon Jan. 2. Two other cases of the launch of North Korean missiles at Kharkiv Oblast are currently being investigated, according to the local prosecutor's office.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Katie Marie Davies
