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."
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.
Ukrainian volunteers of the NGO Boctok SOS and policemen help an elderly women get into an evacuation train towards a safer location in Pokrovsk, Ukraine on Aug. 1, 2023. (Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Due to increased Russian attacks, the local authorities began a mandatory evacuation of civilians from 37 settlements in the Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast.
According to the Kupiansk City Military Administration, residents will be relocated to safer Ukrainian regions.
The evacuation will take place in the communities of Dvorichna and Petropavlivka as well as in parts of the Kindrashivka, Kurylivka, and Kupiansk communities.
In the city of Kupiansk, locals residing near the Zaoskillia train station on the east bank of the Oskil River will be evacuated, the authorities wrote on Aug. 10.
Earlier, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced the plans to evacuate more than 11,000 people, including 600 children, from the area.
“The enemy has significantly increased the shelling of settlements close to the front line and continues to terrorize the civilian population, including conducting airstrikes,” wrote Syniehubov. “Under such conditions, the risks to the life and health of civilians have increased significantly.”
Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast since mid-July, trying to regain the positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn.
Ukraine liberated Kupiansk from Russian occupation in September 2022. Due to its close proximity to the border, the city and other surrounding areas of Kharkiv Oblast have been under constant attack since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Francis Farrell
