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.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi visits commanders of the units deployed on the eastern front, published Sept. 6, 2023. (Source: Military Media Center)
The situation on the eastern front remains difficult as Russian forces seek to gain the initiative and "take revenge" on Ukrainian troops, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Sept. 6, as reported by the Military Media Center.
"The enemy does not abandon plans to reach the (administrative) borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, stubbornly prepares to take revenge and gain the operational initiative," the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces who heads the military operations in the east said.
Russia has occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts since 2014 and has pushed to try to capture the whole territory of the two regions during its full-scale invasion. Ukraine continues to hold western areas of Donetsk Oblast, as well as a small part of Luhansk Oblast.
According to Syrskyi, Russia is completing the training of assault units in the Kupiansk direction and shells Ukrainian positions in the area with artillery and mortars every day.
In the Lyman direction, Russian forces continue to replace troops with reinforcements from thenewly formed 25th Combined Arms Army, the general noted.
Heavy battles reportedly continue also in the Bakhmut direction, where Ukrainian forces advance "step by step," liberating territory despite Russia's efforts to hold their positions.
Syrskyi stressed that the main tasks of Ukrainian forces in the east are to defend current positions in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions and continue advancing in the Bakhmut direction.
Russia hasconcentrated over 100,000 troops in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction of the front in Kharkiv Oblast and Luhansk Oblast. According to Eastern Force Grouping press officer Illia Yevlash, there are 45,000 soldiers attacking Kupiansk and 48,000 pushing toward Lyman.
In turn, Ukrainian forces are advancing in the Bakhmut direction and on the southern front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliarreported on Sept. 4 that Ukraine advanced near Klishchiivka, some five kilometers from Bakhmut, and near Novoprokopivka south of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
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.
Igor Kossov
