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."
Serhii Cherevatyi, Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command spokesman, reported that the city of Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, which has long been a target of Russia's Bakhmut offensive, is “practically destroyed.”
According to Cherevatyi, Russian troops had recently attempted to find a weakness in Ukraine’s defenses.
"Now they simply managed to concentrate more of their units there with more systematic pressure on our defense, which requires us to make appropriate decisions,” he said.
In particular, Cherevatyi said Russia had concentrated its most combat-ready units, including the Kremlin-controlled Wagner Group militants, in the area.
After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Soledar, Russian troops changed tactics and commenced another major assault, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported.
The new assault is expected to be powerful as Russian troops have regrouped and transferred additional units to Soledar.
According to Maliar, Russian troops have also recovered losses by deploying a "large number of assault groups formed from Wagner Group's best reserves."
Along with the Russian military, the group has taken part in the fierce battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, around 215 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Jan. 8 that Bakhmut and Soledar “hold on in spite of everything” and called this area “one of the bloodiest” sites along the front line.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
