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.
Offensive Guard's "Spartan" assault brigade of Ukraine's National Guard practice driving and evacuating lessons on a BTR-4E armored personnel carrier in Kharkiv Oblast on April 21. (AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces advanced over 1,700 meters in the Melitopol direction in a week, said Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, the deputy director of the Department of Application Planning of the National Guard, as cited by ArmyInform on July 14.
Units of the National Guard's 15th "Kara-Dag" Brigade have pushed south and southeast in cooperation with the Armed Forces and with tank support, Urshalovych specified.
"Our units are advancing through dense enemy minefields at the approaches to their positions and under heavy fire, including 213 strikes from multiple-launch rocket systems, tanks, and artillery, and six airstrikes during the past week," Urshalovych said.
The colonel also said that Russian troops are attempting to counterattack to regain lost ground but are being repelled.
Other National Guard formations are deployed in the Siversk and Avdiivka directions, where they are on the defensive against Russian attacks, Urshalovych said.
On July 13, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported successful advances on the southern front line, particularly in the sectors of Novodanylivka-Balka Shyroka and Mala Tokmachka-Novopokrovka.
Ukrainian troops are also conducting offensive actions in the south to degrade Russian military capabilities, Maliar added.
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.
Alexander Khrebet
