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.
Bohdan Yermokhin (R), one of many Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia from the occupied territories of Ukraine, is reunited with his cousin and legal guardian. He was allowed to leave Russia after trying to escape it and making a public plea to President Volodymyr Zelensky to help him come back to Ukraine. (Facebook/Daria Kasianova)
Bohdan Yermokhin, a Ukrainian teenager who was illegally deported by Russia from occupied Mariupol, has successfully left Russia and returned to Ukraine after trying to do so for months, according to the Kyiv Independent's sources and Russian opposition media reports.
According to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Yermokhin arrived back in Ukraine on his 18th birthday, Nov. 19.
Russian authorities deported Yermokhin, an orphan, following the occupation of Mariupol in May 2022. He was placed with a foster family in Moscow Oblast in October, and served with a conscription noticein November 2023, ahead of his 18th birthday.
Russian authorities have been illegally deporting Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Russia, placing them in foster families, where they are raised as Russians. (Watch our recent investigative documentary about this: "Uprooted").
Yermokhin was taken to Belarus, a neighbor of Russia, where he reunited with his cousin, who has become his legal guardian. According to a public statement by Russian authorities, he flew to Belarus on the evening of Nov. 18.
Lubinets reported on Nov. 10 that agreements had been made for Yermokhin's return to Ukraine.
"It was our team at the Ombudsman's Office that worked out the way to return the boy together with other state authorities as part of the implementation of the approved action plan of the Ukrainian President, Bring Kids Back UA," Lubinets wrote in a post on Nov. 19.
According to Lubinets, Ukraine cooperated with Qatar, UNICEF Ukraine, and Ukraine's embassy in Belarus after negotiations with Russia to return Yermokhin back to Ukraine.
"It was a thorny path," Lubinets said. "Bohdan went through a lot while in Russia, but despite everything he wanted to be home! Today, his wish has come true. I am sure that Bohdan will never forget his 18th birthday!"
Yermokhin's case is a high-profile one. In March, Russian authorities claimed that he tried to flee Russia for Ukraine, but was captured close to the border.
When Yermokhin received the summons to a military recruitment center, he recorded a video appealing to President Volodymyr Zelensky for help. His Ukrainian lawyer published it on Facebook.
Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova claimed that Yermokhin had signed a written confirmation in August 2023 indicating that he did not plan to return to Ukraine. Yermokhin's lawyer said the teenager was forced to sign the statement.
The Ukrainian government has identified over 19,500 children who have been deported or forcibly displaced by Russia. Almost 400 of them have been returned to Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in March 2023 over their role in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
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.
Olesia Bida
