"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Illustrative purposes only: Ukrainian flag waving over Parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)
Around 50% of Ukrainians think it is important to criticize the government's actions even during the war, but the criticism should be constructive and not destabilize the situation, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on June 10.
Around 31% of the respondents said that the criticism must be harsh and uncompromising "as the only way to put pressure on the authorities" to correct their mistakes. Some 13% think that criticism should not be allowed to prevent destabilization of the situation in the country, and 5% were undecided.
Numerous surveys after the outbreak of the full-scale war showed the Ukrainian population rallied behind the government, but more recent polls indicate that the level of trust and support is decreasing in some areas.
Respondents from eastern regions were most uncompromising about the criticism, with 47% saying it should be as harsh as possible and 49% calling for a more balanced approach.
People from central, southern, and western regions displayed roughly the same position, with around 30% calling for harsher criticism and over 60% preferring a restrained approach.
Those respondents who said they trust President Volodymyr Zelensky completely (21%) or partially (38%) were more likely to call for a balanced criticism without destabilizing the situation (77% and 76%, respectively).
People who do not trust the president at all (22%) or partially (14%) were more likely to call for uncompromising criticism (62% and 39%, respectively).
The survey was conducted between May 16 and 22 and involved 1,067 respondents from all regions except for occupied territories.
Another KIIS survey published last week showed the level of trust in Zelensky was at 59%, a notable decrease from 90% at the start of the full-scale war but still higher than some other world leaders.
Yet another poll from last week found that 43% of people think that the state of democracy declined during Zelensky's five-year term, but only 28% blamed exclusively the authorities for this development.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
