"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
A Stridsvagn 122 battle tank at the base of the Swedish Army's Gotland Regiment near Visby, Sweden, on Friday, March 25, 2022. (Photo credit: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine has received 10 Swedish variants of Leopard 2A5 tanks known as Stridsvagn 122, manned by Ukrainian crews trained in Sweden, the Swedish military announced on Sept. 21.
"We have given them all that we can in terms of great materiel and good knowledge," Operations Commander of Sweden's Army Staff Mats Ludvig said.
"We wish them all the luck in the world and that they succeed in freeing their country."
Sweden announced the decision to send 10 of its Stridsvagn 122 vehicles, Leopard tanks licensed by Sweden and with additional modifications, on the first anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2023.
Stockholm also provided training to Ukrainian crews on the vehicles on Swedish soil. According to the Swedish military's press statement, the tanks were delivered to Ukraine some time ago, without specifying the exact date.
Before this donation, the Swedish military fielded 120 Stridsvagn 122 tanks in its arsenal, meaning that almost a tenth have been donated to bolster Kyiv's fight against Russian aggression.
Several other partners have provided Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Denmark.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
