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.
Metropolitan Police officers outside the Houses of Parliament on March 21, 2023, in London, U.K. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Howard Michael Phillips, a 64-year-old Londoner, was arrested by British law enforcement officers on May 23 on charges that he was assisting Russian intelligence operate in the U.K.
There has been an uptick in Russia-linked espionage cases across Europe in recent months, with suspected spies or saboteurs being arrested in the U.K., Poland, Germany, Greece, Austria, Latvia, Italy, Estonia, and other countries.
U.K. authorities did not clarify the specifics of Phillips' alleged espionage activities but said that there was unlikely to be a threat to the general public.
Phillips was charged under the U.K.'s new National Security Act powers, which was passed in 2023 and enables police to detain suspects without a warrant if they "reasonably" believe they are engaging in "foreign power threat activity."
A U.K. man with alleged ties to the Wagner mercenary group was arrested in April for allegedly trying to organize an arson plot after reportedly being recruited as a Russian spy.
The suspect, 20-year-old Dylan Earl, was also charged under the National Security Act powers.
Igor Kossov
