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.
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Sunday, May 11
"(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.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the men killed the other before taking his own life.
Western leaders dismissed the Kremlin's proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15 as insufficient.
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 pope said he was praying to God to grant the world the "miracle of peace."
Ushakov’s comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 11 invitation for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul starting May 15.
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.
Zelensky called a ceasefire the essential first step toward ending the war.
The number includes 1,310 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"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."
"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on May 11.
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
The power deficit in Ukraine has been "slightly reduced" due to an increase in production by the country's power plants, Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo reported on Dec. 27.
However, the system's capacity remains insufficient to meet all of the consumers' needs as consumption has also increased, said Ukrenergo.
Because more power grids have been restored following Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the consumption of energy has increased. Ukraine's energy infrastructure needs "significant resources and time" to be fully restored following Russia's attacks, Ukrenergo reported.
Ukrenergo added that energy consumption limits had been set for all Ukrainian regions. If they are exceeded, it would necessitate the implementation of emergency blackouts to balance the system.
Russia has repeatedly attacked critical infrastructure across Ukraine since early October, killing dozens of people and causing electricity, water and heating cut-offs. In its latest large-scale attack on energy facilities, Russia launched 76 cruise missiles, 60 of which were downed.
Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO of energy supplier Yasno, a part of Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK group, said on Dec. 20 that 10-hour-long power outages had become a “new reality” in Kyiv.
Moscow has admitted that Ukraine’s energy system is one of its primary targets. According to the Geneva Convention, attacking vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime.
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