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.
Trucks near the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing waiting to pass into Ukraine in Dorohusk, Poland on Nov. 10, 2023. (Damien Simonart/ AFP via Getty Images)
Polish border guards allegedly refused to let trucks carrying humanitarian goods, including fuel, cross into Ukraine, as protests by Polish truckers over the free movement of Ukrainian haulers stretches into its third week, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 20.
Taras Svitlyk, a representative of a Lviv-based transport company, said that many of his company's trucks carrying fuel and other goods were stuck at parking lots by the border, and Polish border guards were not allowing them to cross. It could be a dangerous situation if they were to catch fire and explode, he added.
Although Polish authorities said that humanitarian aid or essential goods were able to pass, Ukrainian truckers said that trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including medical equipment, were on standby for days waiting to cross.
Disgruntled Polish truckers have been protesting at three checkpoints since Nov. 6, causing huge lines on both sides of the border. The protestors are demanding limitations on the number of Ukrainian haulers entering Poland.
The number of Ukrainian haulers entering Poland has increased drastically, and protestors argue that local businesses are being undercut. They claim Ukrainian drivers are transporting goods from Poland to third countries at a cheaper rate than what local companies can afford.
Movement for cargo trucks was blocked at the Yavhodyn– Dorohusk, Rava-Ruska– Hrebenne crossings, and Krakivets-Korczowa border crossings, but cars, buses, and humanitarian aid were allowed to pass. It is unclear if humanitarian aid is currently being blocked in a systematic manner.
Andrii Demchenko, a spokesperson of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said on Nov. 18 that 2,800 trucks were blocked at the Polish border, waiting to cross into Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials met with Polish truck drivers on Nov. 13, but the talks failed to progress.
