Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
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 aftermath of the Ukrainian strike on the Russian drones' launch site in the village of Tetkino in Russia's Kursk Oblast on April 19, 2025. (Ukraine's General Staff/Telegram)
Ukraine's Air Force struck a Russian drone launch site near the village of Tetkino in Russia's Kursk Oblast on April 19, Ukraine's General Staff reported on April 21.
The attack killed up to 20 drone operators, the statement read. Russian forces reportedly used the facility to prepare, equip, and launch reconnaissance, strike, and FPV (first-person-view) drones.
Russian forces launch hundreds of drones against Ukraine almost every night, targeting civilian areas and critical infrastructure.
"Our strike is a tangible response to (Russia's) actions against the Ukrainian army," the General Staff said. "No war crime will go unpunished."
The drone attacks come as Moscow continues to reject a U.S.-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed on April 20 to implement a 30-day ban on long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure. The Kremlin did not support Kyiv's proposal.
On April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an Easter truce on the front line, claiming that Russian troops would not engage in combat over the weekend. According to Zelensky, Russia has violated the truce about 3,000 times.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
