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.
Rosvodkanal's building in Krasnodar, Russia. (illustrative purposes only) (Rosvodkanal website)
The Ukrainian Blackjack hacker group carried out a cyber attack against Rosvodokanal, a Russian water utility company, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Dec. 20, citing undisclosed law enforcement sources.
The attack, targeting Rosvodkanal's digital infrastructure, was likely supported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the sources told Ukrainska Pravda.
The news comes only a week after a massive Russian-linked cyberattackagainst the Ukrainian phone operator Kyivstar, which caused internet and network outages across the country.
Blackjack allegedly attacked more than 6,000 computers and deleted over 50 terabytes (TB) of data, including internal documents, correspondence, cyber protection services, backup data, and more.
The SBU is now analyzing 1.5 TB of Rosvodkanal's data, sources told Ukrainska Pravda.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the report, and the Russian company did not comment on the alleged attack on its website or social media channels.
Rosvodkanal supplies water to around 7 million people and is part of the Alfa Group, co-owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman.
RBC Ukraine reported in late November that the Blackjack group hacked the website of the Russian Labor and Social Protection Ministry with the help of the SBU, downloading a large amount of classified information.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Nate Ostiller
