"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. ichael 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.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
Ukrainian artillerymen in the military assembly center check their weapons and special equipment before heading to the frontline in Kherson on July 15, 2022. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukraine’s Armed Forces have launched an offensive “in many directions in the south of Ukraine,” Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Operational Command South, said on Aug. 29.
Humeniuk said that the situation in the southern direction remains “quite tense, but controlled by Ukrainian forces,” adding that after some “accurate strikes” by Ukrainian forces, Russian troops “do not want to go on the attack and are stationed on their fortified lines,” as quoted by Hromadske.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has been very slowly making advances toward the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital to fall under Russian occupation since the full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24.
The anticipation of a major counteroffensive to liberate the southern region under Russian control has been building since early July, when Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that President Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered to liberate the occupied south. It was an unusual move for Ukraine’s government to advertise the military’s goals.
Loud explosions were reported on Aug. 29 in the afternoon in two major southern capitals: Kherson, occupied by Russian troops, and Mykolaiv, under Ukrainian control.
Ukraine’s Kakhovka Operational Group also reported on Aug. 29 that the 109th regiment of the Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast “withdrew from its positions in Kherson Oblast and the Russian paratroopers supporting them fled the battlefield.”
The group says that U.S.-provided high-precision HIMARS rocket launchers “have destroyed almost all large bridges,” including the Antonivsky and Novokakhovskyi bridges, leaving only some pedestrian crossings and cutting Russian forces off from the supply of weapons and personnel from the territory of occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian forces began striking the three key bridges to Kherson across the Dnipro River in July. Later, on Aug. 27, RFE/RL released satellite images of Russian forces building pontoon bridges across the Dnipro River after Ukrainian strikes on the bridges. British intelligence, however, said these pontoon bridges will also likely be vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes.
In addition to the attacks on bridges, Ukraine has largely focused on targeting Russian ammunition dumps in the area in an attempt to weaken Russia’s ability to withstand Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Humeniuk said on Aug. 26 that the depots were “Ukraine's main priority.”
According to two senior U.S. officials briefed on intelligence who spoke with CNN, Ukrainian forces have begun “shaping” operations in Ukraine’s south to prepare the area for a major counteroffensive.
The two officials told CNN that Russia’s Battlefield Tactical Groups, or BTGs, which include infantry, tanks, artillery, and air defense are currently at low levels of manpower, some of them at even half of where they should be.
Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics, specializing in translation from English and German languages. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher.
