"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.
A damaged shopping center in Belgorod on Feb. 15, 2024 (Stringer / AFP via Getty Images)
Russian air defense allegedly shot down 14 rockets over Belgorod at around 12:30 p.m. local time, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Feb. 15.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed that six people had been killed and 17 were wounded, five of whom were children. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the attack had been carried out using an RM-70 multiple rocket launcher.
According to Gladkov, an industrial site, four shops, 34 cars, and 128 apartments in 10 apartment buildings in Belgorod were damaged in the attack.
Gladkov claimed that damage was also recorded in four villages in the surrounding region.
Ukrainian authorities have not claimed responsibility for the purported strike. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Russia's Belgorod Oblast borders the Ukrainian oblasts of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk and is frequently used to launch attacks against Ukraine.
In late December 2023, a drone strike on Belgorod reportedly killed 25 people and injured over 100. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the strike, which came one day after Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Kyiv.
The local authorities said in January that 93 children had been evacuated to a "recreational camp" in neighboring Voronezh Oblast due to repeated attacks.
Dmytro Basmat
