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."
Reported footage of the damaged Russian missile carrier Askold, published on Nov. 6, 2023. (Office of Strategic Communications/Facebook)
The Askold Russian cruise missile carrier has suffered significant damage following Ukraine's strike on Crimea on Nov 4., possibly rendering it beyond repair, the Ukrainian military's Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) said on Nov. 6.
StratCom accompanied the announcement with a photo reportedly capturing extensive damage the vessel suffered in the attack.
The Askold ship can carry up to eight Kalibr missiles, which Russian forces use to attack infrastructure across Ukraine. StratCom noted that the vessel is part of Russia's Karakurt stealth technology project.
On Nov. 4, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced that Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian ship carrying Kalibr missiles in a strike on Russian-occupied Crimea without specifying its name.
A day later, Ukrainian Navy Captain Andrii Ryzhenko told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's investigative program Schemes that, according to satellite imagery, Asklod had been damaged in the attack.
"You can see that it's still afloat, but the upper part of the ship is significantly damaged," Ryzhenko said.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the Ukrainian strike damaged a ship located in a shipyard in Kerch, a city in Crimea, Russian state-controlled media reported on Nov. 4.
