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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. A damaged household is seen in an undisclosed location in Kharkiv, Ukraine on May 2, 2024. (Yakiv Liashenko / The Kyiv Independent)
At least six people were injured, including a pregnant woman, overnight on Sept. 1 in Russia's attack on Kharkiv Oblast, regional governor Oleh Suniehubov reported.
Several buildings were damaged and a fire was reported following the attack, according to the governor.
Meanwhile, several Russian drones targeted Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight. Governor Serhii Lysak said that two drones were downed over the region and two people - a 72-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man - were injured in the attack.
Fires were reported following the attack that damaged power lines in the region, a gas station, an enterprise, several high-rises, close to a dozen homes, and a warehouse.
Ukrainian cities endure frequent Russian attacks that often result in civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, including energy systems.
Following a brief lull over the summer, which allowed Ukraine to restore some of its energy capacity, Russia has renewed its attacks in recent days, once again forcing restrictions on energy consumption. Russian drones and missiles have reportedly damaged about 50% of Ukraine's pre-war power generation capacity, based on government estimates.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Olena Goncharova
