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.
Zelensky called a ceasefire the essential first step toward ending the war.
The number includes 1,310 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"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."
"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on May 11.
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.
The American-made weapons cannot be exported, even by a country that owns them, without approval from the U.S. government.
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.
Kosovo's president: Wagner mercenaries work with Serbian paramilitaries against Kosovo
Members of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group work with Serbian paramilitaries to smuggle weapons in Kosovo for a potential hybrid attack by Serbia to grab Kosovan territory, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani told The Telegraph.
Serbia’s objective is allegedly to “prepare situations for a possible annexation,” Osmani said, an aim it wants to achieve without naming it a military operation.
The alleged secret operation that includes smuggling unmarked military uniforms is similar to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 when Russian soldiers invaded Crimea without chevrons on their uniforms.
The Wagner Group is Russia’s most high-profile mercenary group that was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Along with the Russian regular army, Wagner has taken part in the battles for Soledar and Bakhmut in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk Oblast.
The group is known for its human rights abuses all over the world. It has been accused of human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Mozambique, including torture and extrajudicial killings.
On Feb. 6, Ukraine’s parliament recognized Wagner as an international criminal organization and called on foreign governments to do the same.
On Jan. 26, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Wagner Group mercenaries as a “significant transnational criminal organization” and imposed sanctions on its support network worldwide.
“Wagner personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali,” the U.S. Treasury Department said.
The sanctions announced by the U.S. on Jan. 26 target “six individuals and 12 entities” connected to Russia’s defense industry, along with allies and family members of Putin.

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