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.
A school destroyed by Russian shelling in Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast, March 2023. (Andriy Kramchenkov/Suspilne Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces operating in Sumy Oblast intercepted a reconnaissance group of eight Russian soldiers headed in the direction of local critical infrastructure installations, Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev said on Oct. 12.
The intercepting Ukrainian soldiers reportedly fired on the saboteur group, inflicting casualties and forcing them to retreat.
Naiev reported no losses on the Ukrainian side.
Russian forces withdrew from Sumy Oblast in April 2022, after the Russian military had been widely routed across the north of Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Russia has regularly attacked Sumy Oblast since then, including 286 explosions recorded throughout the day on Oct. 11.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
