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 a massive Russian drone attack against Kyiv as the building was reportedly damaged by the drone debris on Nov. 25, 2023. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Ukraine attacked Russian military targets with about 35 drones overnight on Nov. 26 in response to Russia's mass Shahed attack against Ukraine a day earlier, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing a military intelligence source.
Ukraine's drones were aimed at targets in Moscow and its region, as well as in Tula and Smolensk. Russia claimed that it had shot down 24 Ukrainian drones.
According to Ukrainska Pravda's source, the attack is a signal to Russia that its strikes against civilians in Ukraine will be met with consequences.
"The war must be fought with the military in the war zones. Strikes on civilians and outside the war zone will not go unanswered," source said as cited by the media.
On the morning of Nov. 25, Russia struck Ukraine with 75 Shahed kamikaze drones, mainly targeting Kyiv. Ukrainian air defense reported bringing down 74 of them.
As a result of the six-hour attack, at least two people were injured and several residential and non-residential buildings were damaged across the capital.
Shaheds are an Iranian design — cheap, simple, long-range kamikaze drones, which have steadily replaced missiles in Russia's mass strikes, especially after thousands of advanced missiles had been fired.
Both Russia and Ukraine produce and field their own takes on the design.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Rachel Amran
