This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
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."
Commander of Ukraine's Land Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi during a visit with front-line troops in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast on June 3. (Photo: Syrskyi/ Telegram)
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, made a new visit to Ukrainian military units near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.
Russian forces have been recently concentrating around the city, the general wrote on Telegram on June 16.
"The enemy continues to transfer his military units to Bakhmut, concentrating large forces in this direction. But we have a clear task, which is the de-occupation of our territories," the general said.
He added that Ukraine's forces "continue to advance and liberate Ukrainian land."
Syrskyi namely thanked the units of the 3rd, 5th, 54th, 57th, and 80th brigades.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on June 15 that Russian forces are redeploying from the south to the Bakhmut area.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine continues counteroffensive operations in at least three directions. On June 14, Maliar reported advances between 200 and 500 meters at the Bakhmut front.
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.
