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.
"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."
Ukrainian soldiers ride on a BMP infantry fighting vehicle toward Bakhmut on May 20, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Shestak/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's forces are advancing on the southern front line, having destroyed or damaged 46 units of Russian military equipment just over the past day, the commander for Tavriia military sector said on June 20.
Russia has also lost more than five companies of soldiers killed and wounded in the area, according to Oleksandr Tarnavskyi. In Russia, one company consists of 30-150 people depending on the type of troops.
Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive is underway in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts. So far, eight settlements have been confirmed as liberated by Ukrainian forces.
According to the June 19 report by the Institute for the Study of War, the Ukrainian military has been advancing near Bakhmut and in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and attacking in western Donetsk Oblast.
On June 19, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its intelligence update that Russia had begun relocating its forces from the eastern bank of the Dnipro River to strengthen the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut sectors.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Daria Shulzhenko
