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."
A view of the Crimean Bridge, built following Russia's illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea. (Photo by Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia claimed it had downed 13 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and three more over its southern Volgograd Oblast overnight on Nov. 24, Russian Defense Ministry reported. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the information.
There was no information on damages or casualties.
Volgograd Oblast, which hosts the Marinovka air base, is located around 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The region borders Rostov Oblast in the southwest, Voronezh Oblast in the northwest, Saratov Oblast in the north, Astrakhan Oblast and the Republic of Kalmykia in the southeast.
Last week, a military base went up in flames after an explosion in Volgograd Oblast's town of Kotluban, local Telegram channels reported. The Defense Ministry didn't comment on the accident.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Ukraine of cross-border incursions on Russia's border regions as well as launching drones toward Moscow. Kyiv rarely comments on attacks inside Russia.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
