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.
"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."
The aftermath of Russia's overnight attack against Odesa on Sept. 25, 2023. (Southern Defense Forces/Telegram)
Russian forces launched 19 Shahed-136/131 attack drones overnight on Sept. 25 targeted against Odesa Oblast, as well as two Onyx supersonic missiles, according to Ukrainian military. There were also at least 12 Kalibr missiles launched against other Ukrainian regions.
At least 19 Shahed drones and 11 Kalibr cruise missiles were downed by Ukraine's air defense mostly over Odesa Oblast.
Odesa seaport building sustained significant damage, according to the Ukrainian military, and a fire broke out in the building of a nearby hotel, which has not been functioning for several years.
Onyx missiles also destroyed grain storage facilities. No further details were provided at the time of the publication.
One civilian was wounded by shrapnel in Odesa, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported on his official Telegram channel. The woman is being treated at a local hospital.
One private residence in Odesa city suburbs was damaged after debris caused a fire in the early hours of Sept. 25. Firefighters have put out the fire, according to Kiper.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast governor reported that some Shahed drones launched at Ukraine overnight were shot down over Kryvyi Rih. Falling debris caused a fire at an industrial facility, Serhii Lysak said, without specifying how many drones were downed over the city.
The remaining Kalibr missile was downed over Mykolaiv Oblast, according to Vitalii Kim, the oblast governor, who didn't report any damages or casualties.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
