"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.
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) speaks to reporters before a Senate luncheon on Dec. 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican and ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said on Nov. 22 that Russia could not be trusted to engage in peace negotiations to end the full-scale war in Ukraine.
"As much as I would like to believe we can negotiate with a tyrant, I suspect we may be deceiving ourselves," Rounds said at the Halifax Security Forum, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rounds' remarks stand in stark contrast to the views expressed by Trump, who has repeatedly pressed for a swift deal to end the war. Trump has also spoken admiringly of Putin on a number of occasions.
"Do you believe that this tyrant, if you offer him a part of a free country, do you think he's gonna stop?" Rounds said, as reported by Politico.
"I wish I could say there’s an easy way out, there's not."
While many of Trump's congressional allies have opposed ongoing military aid to Ukraine, Senate Republicans are generally pro-Ukraine and skeptical of negotiating with Moscow. Rounds went so far as to express frustration that the U.S. has not provided more weapons to Kyiv.
"I just feel so frustrated that we have not been able to provide them all of the equipment that they need, and all of the weapons systems that they need, in order to respond to the absolute tyranny coming from Russia," he said.
"I wonder why we haven't done more more quickly than we have."
Rounds did not criticize Trump directly and pointed out that his views were not those of the incoming presidential administration.
Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025. His push for speedy negotiations has sparked fears that Washington will pressure Kyiv to accept a deal that favors Moscow, including territorial concessions and a possible promise not to join NATO.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Chris York
