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.
BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 18: Sean Penn attends the "Superpower" press conference during the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 18, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage)
Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman's "Superpower," a documentary film about the war in Ukraine, premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 18.
The organizers of this year's festival expressed their continued solidary with the people of Ukraine, as well as protestors in Iran, in January 2023.
"The Berlinale stands in 2023 even more firmly for these democratic values, and remembers victims of war, destruction and oppression all over the world," the organizers said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, thanked Penn and Kaufman for their film in a Telegram post.
According to Yermak, the film "tells the story of the war for independence, the Russian invasion, which Sean Penn himself met in Kyiv and saw with his own eyes the first day of the start of a full-scale war."
During the press conference after the premiere of the film, Sean Penn said that the U.S. had to accept "a level of shame" for not supplying Ukraine with defense aid sooner.
“If you imagine what it is if Russia wins, we are all fucked. Just dead fucked,” Penn said, adding that helping Ukraine to win the war was the best way to avoid escalation.
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