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.
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.
A woman rides her bike in the city of Kherson in November 2022, days after the city's liberation from Russian occupation. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin/The Kyiv Independent)
Russian attacks over the past day killed 1 and injured 5, local authorities said on Jan. 19.
In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces attacked the city of Kupiansk with self-propelled artillery, killing a 57-year-old woman and injuring two men, aged 56 and 62, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. The two men were hospitalized.
The attacks also damaged a multi-story building.
In the village of Donets, in Kharkiv Oblast, a 53-year-old man was killed after an unknown object exploded.
Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast injured three people, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said, without providing information on where the casualties occurred.
The city of Kherson was struck at least 11 times.
Russian forces also attacked Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and Donetsk oblasts, causing damage to buildings, but no casualties.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
