The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
An apartment building damaged after a Russian drone strike on the city of Mykolaiv on Nov. 11, 2024. (Ukraine's State Emergency Service / Telegram)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia attacked the southern city of Mykolaiv with drones on Nov. 11, killing five people and injuring one woman, local authorities reported.
Five people were killed and one 45-year-old woman was hospitalized following the attack, Governor Vitalii Kim reported. According to Kim, search and rescue operations have been completed.
Russia attacked the city overnight with kamikaze drones, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said.
The drone strike destroyed a house and caused serious damage to a four-story apartment building. An apartment on the fourth floor was destroyed, and fires broke out on the third and fourth floors, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.
Mykolaiv Oblast and other southern oblasts suffer regular Russian attacks. The city of Mykolaiv lies roughly 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest from the front line in Kherson Oblast.
A Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv on Oct. 15 killed one person and injured 23 others.
Russia has recently been ramping up attacks against residential neighborhoods in Ukraine's most populated cities. The night before the attack on Mykolaiv, Russia on Nov. 10 launched a record number of drones — 145 total — against Ukraine in its largest overnight drone strike since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Kateryna Hodunova
