"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 Russian flag flies above a barricades in an unknown location. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A Russian court in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentenced two residents to 14 years in a general regime penal colony, for alleged “treason” over fund transfers to the Ukrainian military, Russian state media TASS reported on April 22.
The press release identified the convicted women from Energodar by name and initials: L.A. Kachkareva and S.N. Dolgopolova.
The women were detained in December 2023 and, according to Russian authorities, confessed in court and expressed remorse for their actions.
Prosecutors claimed that one of the women transferred around 5,000 hryvnias ($120) to a foreign bank account allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services since January 2024.
The second woman reportedly sent 2,400 hryvnias ($57) from her mother-in-law's account to Ukraine’s Armed Forces in May 2023.
In a video published by Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, one of the women explained she had transferred only small amounts, 100–200 hryvnias ($2-5), after seeing a donation appeal on an entertainment channel.
"I was just watching an entertainment channel, and there was a bill. They asked for repairs, for help," she said.
The case reflects Russia’s broader efforts to prosecute Ukrainians in occupied territories, as part of an expanding crackdown since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Since 2022, authorities have escalated arrests, prosecutions, and harsh prison sentences, frequently targeting individuals accused of “discrediting” the Russian military, committing “treason,” or allegedly acting as “foreign agents” for other states.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Denisova
