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."
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."
People walk along an alley of graves of Ukrainian soldiers at Lukianivskyi cemetery in Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 28, 2023. (Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
At least 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) have been executed by Russian soldiers, the head of the War Crimes Department in Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, Yurii Belousov, said on April 9.
A total of 27 criminal investigations into the executions are underway, Belousov said on national television. Presumably, some of these investigations concern group executions.
There have been a number of reports recently about Russian soldiers killing Ukrainian POWs in the embattled parts of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.
Belousov confirmed that they were executed near Krynky, a village on the predominantly occupied part of Kherson Oblast east of the Dnipro River.
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Prosecutors are investigating the involvement of the Russian command, "which is responsible for such actions" as well, Belousov said.
"We are talking not only about unit commanders but also about the highest military and political leadership. Because this is not a single case, but evidence of Russian policy," Belousov added.
As of March 18, Ukraine had collected evidence on over 128,000 victims of war crimes, according to Veronika Plotnikova, the head of the Coordinating Center for Support of Victims and Witnesses of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Danylo Mokryk
