"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko attends a concert at the Gazprom Arena stadium in Saint Petersburg on Jan. 27, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A private company connected to Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is building a luxury residence in the mountains near Sochi, Russia, according to a joint investigation by the Polish news outlet Belsat and the association of former Belarusian security officials BELPOL.
Lukashenko has been the only president of Belarus since he came to power in 1994, in what is widely considered the first and last time free elections were held in the country since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The residence is reportedly being built in the elite resort town of Krasnaya Polyana on a plot of more than 97,000 square meters. Investigators obtained the purchase agreement for the plot along with Lukashenko's secret orders to transfer ownership of the property from the state of Belarus into the hands of Lukashenko's private associates.
The site in Krasnaya Polyana was owned by Belarus from 2009 to 2022, investigators said. Belarusian authorities acquired the land in exchange for Belarusian lands given to Russia in an agreeement signed in May 2009.
The plot was reported sold in February of 2022, the same month Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The listed buyer was Kompleks-Invest LLC, a Russian entity created six months before the sale. Around the time the LLC was set up, Lukashenko reportedly issued secret orders for the privatization of the land.
Plans for the residency include a swimming pool, a movie theater, Russian and Turkish baths, a massage room, and a fitness center, among other amenities. The site will also include a restaurant and a hotel.
According to Belsat investigators, Lukashenko may have decided to establish a residence outside of Belarus after mass protests broke out following the falsified 2020 election results. The luxury complex may be his intended home after he leaves office, either voluntarily or forcibly, journalists suggested.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Maria Yeryoma
