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. Vapour escapes from processing complex during operations at the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil refinery, operated by Bashneft PAO, in Ufa, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine has launched serial production of strike drones with a range of over 1,000 kilometers, the head of state-owned company Ukrainian Defense Industry, also known as Ukroboronprom, said on June 29.
In an interview with ArmyInform, Herman Smetanin said Russia's "huge resources and super-powerful industry" meant Kyiv had to take a more "flexible and inventive" approach to manufacturing weapons.
Ukraine employs long-range drones to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting military infrastructure such as airfields and logistics, as well as oil refineries and depots. The strikes against oil infrastructure are intended to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military and diminish Moscow's export revenues, crucial for funding the war.
Experimental Ukrainian drones have struck targets in Russia as far as the Tatarstan Republic, some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) away from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Smetanin said that with the help of "private individuals," Ukrainian Defense Industry was now able to "scale production" of long-range drones.
Moscow's defense ministry on June 30 claimed to have destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones overnight that targeted several regions in the southwest of Russia.
In a post on Telegram, it said 15 drones were downed over the Kursk Oblast, nine over Lipetsk Oblast, four over Voronezh Oblast, four over Bryansk Oblast, two over Oryol Oblast and another two over Belgorod Oblast.
The defense ministry did not provide details of any damage or casualties caused.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Russian authorities routinely falsely claim to have thwarted Ukrainian drone and missile attacks.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
