"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Turkish officials told Bloomberg that while they don't expect Trump to visit Istanbul, they are not ruling it out, and preparations for any scenario are underway.
In this aerial view, smoke rises from the Ukrainian border city of in Vovchansk, Ukraine, on May 17, 2024. Ukraine has been evacuating civilians from around Vovchansk as Russian forces advance in the area and are bombarding the city daily with heavy artillery. (Libkos/Getty Images)
Russian forces in the embattled town of Vovchansk are shooting civilians as they try to escape the fighting, Ukrainian police said on May 22.
Speaking on air to KYIV24, Oleksii Kharkivskyi, the town's police chief, said there had been "several" incidents and investigations were "ongoing."
Around 100 Ukrainian civilians remain in Vovchansk, but Russian forces refuse to allow them to leave and have threatened to shoot them, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on state television on May 21.
Syniehubov said those who remained in Vovchansk would be evacuated at the soonest possible opportunity but that 100 civilians had been effectively "taken hostage" by Russian troops and could not leave.
Kharkivskyi said civilians were trying to flee the fighting by crossing the Vovcha River, which flows through Vovchansk, and this is where Russian forces were firing on them.
The police chief added that this continues to be an escape route, and on May 21, police helped eight people who had managed to make it across.
Deputy Governor Roman Semenukha said on the same day that Ukrainian forces control about 60% of Vovchansk amid continuous Russian assaults.
"The enemy keeps trying, especially inside Vovchansk, to push the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the town," he added.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed on May 15 that Russian units had entered the northern parts of the settlement.
The town is described by Ukrainian officials as almost destroyed, while Russia keeps attacking Vovchansk and other neighboring settlements, inflicting civilian casualties.
Nate Ostiller
