"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"We cannot allow NATO's military infrastructure to get that close to our borders," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the men killed the other before taking his own life.
Western leaders dismissed the Kremlin's proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15 as insufficient.
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 pope said he was praying to God to grant the world the "miracle of peace."
Ushakov’s comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 11 invitation for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul starting May 15.
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.
Zelensky called a ceasefire the essential first step toward ending the war.
Rostov Oblast governor asks residents to stay calm as media reports administrative buildings seized in city of Rostov
Check out our LIVE UPDATES on the Wagner Group’s armed rebellion in Russia.
Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents to stay calm and remain at home as reports emerged of soldiers and military vehicles on the streets of the southern Russian city of Rostov and the takeover of administrative buildings in Rostov by unidentified men.
"Dear countrymen!" The current situation requires the maximum concentration of all efforts to maintain order. Law enforcement agencies are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of the oblast's residents. I ask everyone to stay calm and do not leave your homes unless necessary," Golubev wrote on Telegram.
Meanwhile, a local Rostov news outlet reported that "unknown men in camouflage had seized administrative buildings in Rostov," Russian independent media outlet Meduza reported on Telegram.
The unconfirmed report said that the "unknown men" had taken over the headquarters of the Southern Military District, a police department in the city center, the regional department of the Interior Ministry, the regional department of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, and the Rostov administration building.
Russian independent media outlet Rain published two videos on Telegram of men with machine guns lying on the street outside the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov. Russian state-controlled news outlet TASS later reported that the men with machine guns were Wagner Group fighters.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
The reports follow a voice message by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's posted on his Telegram channel saying that his troops had entered Rostov Oblast and had shot down a helicopter that had opened fire.
Earlier on June 23, Prigozhin claimed that the Russian military had launched a missile strike against his fighters in Ukraine, inflicting a high number of casualties. Following the alleged attack, he vowed to take revenge and said he was sending a "march for justice" against the Russian military leadership.
In the wake of Prigozhin's comments, Russian military leaders pleaded with Wagner troops to hold their positions and not turn against their own and Moscow stepped up security measures in the capital.
Olena Goncharova
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