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.
Protesters gather outside of USAID headquarters on Feb. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images)
The State Department formally notified Congress on March 28 that it is dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and transferring some of its functions under its jurisdiction.
According to the notification, the agency, which has been central to U.S. foreign aid efforts, will be disbanded by July 1.
The move effectively ends USAID, a multibillion-dollar agency tasked with fighting global poverty and hunger. The decision to shutter an agency created by Congress without legislative input is expected to spark legal challenges. Critics warn that eliminating USAID could undermine humanitarian efforts, while the Trump administration has accused the agency of mismanaging taxpayer funds and supporting overseas programs that do not align with U.S. interests.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has systematically gutted USAID, halting nearly all foreign aid programs pending review, firing thousands of employees, and canceling billions of dollars in aid contracts.
Nearly all of the remaining 900 employees are being terminated. The cuts have triggered lawsuits from aid groups and staff members, some of whom were forced to return home from overseas assignments without reimbursement.
USAID was a primary target of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is implementing deep cuts across federal agencies. In a message to USAID employees obtained by CNN, Jeremy Lewin, a DOGE liaison and senior USAID official, defended the decision, saying it would "significantly enhance efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact" in foreign aid efforts. He confirmed that most non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated, with employees receiving reduction-in-force notices starting March 28.
Some USAID programs, including humanitarian assistance, global health efforts, strategic investment, and limited national security projects, will be absorbed by the State Department’s regional bureaus, according to the congressional notification.
However, other functions deemed redundant will be cut entirely. The restructuring has faced significant pushback from career officials, with one senior USAID official placed on leave after blaming Trump appointees for crippling the government’s ability to carry out life-saving humanitarian missions.
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.
Daria Shulzhenko
