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."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
Anastasiya Yalanska (L), Serhiy Ustymenko (second from right), and Maxym Kuzmenko (R) pose for a photo not long before being killed in Bucha on March 4, 2022. Their fourth friend did not join the group on that day, and is alive.
At noon on March 4, an SUV drove through the streets of Bucha, formerly a cozy green town near Kyiv, now a hotspot of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Three people were in the car: Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, a co-founder of a car repair shop, Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, a hookah server, and Anastasia Yalanska, 26, a lead recruiter at an IT company.
Bucha was and remains a dangerous place, now largely controlled by Russian forces. The three young Ukrainians were there on an important mission.
They had just delivered dog food to a dog shelter that had run out of it and were on their way back to pick up Ustymenko's parents.
They had just nearly made it home. As the car was approaching their house, there was a deafening sound.
A Russian vehicle – witnesses identify it as either a tank or an infantry fighting vehicle – opened fire on the car.
When the shooting stopped, Valeriy Ustymenko, the father of Serhiy, ran to the car. Everyone inside was already dead.
He dragged out the three bodies and took them to his basement, where he has been hiding from the constant shelling, like most people in Bucha.
Three days later, the bodies are still there. Due to shelling, they can’t be buried. Their friends and families can’t say goodbye to their loved ones.
Ustymenko’s father is still in the basement, with the bodies of his son and his son’s two friends.
There was no way that Russians didn’t know they were shooting at civilians, the victims’ friends say.
“The car was (obviously) civilian,” said Dmytro Zubkov, a friend of Maxym Kuzmenko. “Maxym was wearing a hat with a pom pom. They didn’t look like the military at all."
Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, was a car lover and a co-owner of a service station in Kyiv.
Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, loyal friend
Ustymenko turned 25 in December. Despite his young age, he had managed to achieve a lot.
He co-founded a car repair shop in Kyiv and united a big crowd of friends around it, said his friend Ivan Soloviy.
“He was the best driver of, well,” Soloviy paused, “all of Kyiv.”
Ustymenko was a member of several automobile clubs and groups, Soloviy said.
“His service station was always open for us. Recently, we would only get together there,” Soloviy said.
Friends remember Ustymenko as “the soul of any company,” but also a kind and reliable friend.
“He was a friend,” Soloviy said, sobbing, “that would never betray you.”
Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, was a hookah expert and Youtuber.
Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, relentless volunteer
Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, a hookah server in a Kyiv bar, is also remembered warmly by his friends.
“He was always there for those who needed him,” said Kateryna Zhvalyuk, his employer and friend.
During the coronavirus lockdown in Kyiv, Kuzmenko volunteered as a driver. He returned to volunteer work when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February.
When the invasion started, Zhvalyuk’s bar started helping the Ukrainian army and hospitals with food. Kuzmenko ran deliveries.
When the bar ran out of food, Kuzmenko decided to keep volunteering with his other friends, delivering essential goods to people across Kyiv Oblast.
Zubkov, a co-founder of a pizza restaurant chain, was one of those friends. He cooked meals that Kuzmenko delivered.
“We cooked for everyone who needed it,” he said. “More often we helped the elderly and children's cancer hospitals.”
“He always did more than was expected from him. You give him a task and he does more,” said Zhvalyuk. “I used to ask him: ‘Why are you doing more when it’s good enough already?’ He would answer: ‘I must get better than I am now’.”
Anastasiya Yalanska, 26, was an IT recruiter and a blogger.
Anastasia Yalanska, 26, brave and straightforward
Anastasia Yalanska, 26, was a talented IT recruiter.
She started her new job just three weeks ago. The team was happy to have her join them, her colleagues said.
“I asked her if she wanted to grow and run HR for a large company…how high she wanted to reach…she said: ‘Yes, I can do it’,” said Jeremy Achin, her boss. “She was very ambitious, she was not scared.”
Achin thought that with the right guidance Yalanska could achieve great heights in her field.
“But now we will never see that future,” he said, bursting into tears.
Andriy Piddubny, Yalanska’s former colleague, remembers her warmly. He said she was “professional, honest, and straightforward.”
“She always spoke her mind,” he said. “She was very dedicated and upbeat, everyone loved her.”
Yalanska’s best friend Anastasiya Hryshchenko said that her family and friends were concerned for her safety and asked her to stay away from places of heavy shelling.
“She always helped those in need,” said Yalanska’s husband Eugen Yalanskiy. “Until her last breath. She was the best of all people.”
Anna Myroniuk is the head of investigations at the Kyiv Independent. Anna has run investigative projects on human rights, healthcare and illicit trade. She also investigated political and corporate misconduct and alleged wrongdoings in the Ukraine army's leadership. Anna holds a Masters in Investigative Journalism from the City University of London. She is a Chevening Scholar, the European Press Prize 2023 winner, the winner of the #AllForJan Award 2023, an honoree of the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Media & Marketing list, the runner-up in the investigative reporting category of the 2022 European Press Prize, and a finalist of the 2022 Ukraine's National Investigative Journalism Award and the 2020 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award.
