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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and President of Poland Andrzej Duda pose for photo during their meeting in Warsaw, Poland on Jan. 20, 2022. (president.gov.ua)
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of a new “format of political cooperation” involving Ukraine, Poland and the U.K. in his address to Ukraine’s parliament on Feb. 1.
The announcement came amid the ongoing visit of U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki, the country’s second-highest official behind President Andrzej Duda.
According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the new trilateral partnership will strengthen security and develop trade and readiness for concrete action.
"Warsaw, Kyiv and London don’t only understand the threats to European security and have a strategy to counter Russian activity, but also have great potential for trilateral cooperation in trade, investment and energy, including renewables,” said Kuleba.
The format’s official announcement was expected to be made by U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Feb. 2, but this was delayed to an unspecified date after she tested positive for Covid-19, said Kuleba.
He added that the initiative had been proposed by Ukraine in October and that the format was not limited by geography. All countries with shared trade and security goals are welcome to join, Kuleba said.
In his speech, Zelensky praised Ukrainian diplomatic efforts and told the assembled lawmakers that the prime ministers of the U.K., Poland, the Netherlands, and the president of Turkey were all visiting Kyiv this week.
“This intensity of visits is a serious factor in the stabilization of the domestic situation in our country,” said the president.
Over the past month, amid the ongoing Russian military escalation, Poland and the U.K. began providing substantial military and financial aid to Ukraine.
The Polish government has approved providing Ukraine with air defense weapons, adding that several dozens of projectiles could be transferred “within the next several days.”
“A decision was made to transfer munitions of defensive, rather than of offensive, nature to the Ukrainian party,” said Pawel Soloch, the leader of Poland’s National Security Bureau.
The U.K. provided Ukraine with 2,000 NLAW systems, the short-range anti-tank missile launchers, as part of the U.K.’s updated assistance package.
Ukraine is also set to receive an additional $120 million in foreign aid from the United Kingdom in support of Ukraine’s “stable governance” and “energy independence”, according to a press release from Johnson’s office on Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 27, Ukraine’s parliament ratified a deal to get a loan worth $2.3 billion (1.7 billion pounds) from the United Kingdom and procure warships and key naval infrastructure.
Max Hunder is a business reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He previously worked as a business reporter at the Kyiv Post focusing on infrastructure and energy. He is a graduate of Eton College and University College London, and has reported for international publications from London, Kyiv and Yerevan.
