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 U.S. Navy ship in port of Gdynia, Poland on 17 June 2023. (Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
An underwater telecommunications cable between Sweden and Estonia was "damaged by means of external force or tampering," the Swedish government said on Oct. 23.
A Swedish investigation concluded that the damage occurred "within the Estonian economic zone" and did not affect the cable's functionality.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin held a press conference on Oct. 17 to discuss the damage, which was discovered around the same time as damage to a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline and nearby telecommunications cable.
"We are cooperating closely with our Estonian and Finnish partners. Estonia has reported that traces of physical impacts have been found. They have also assessed that the damage to the gas pipeline and communications cable between Finland and Estonia is related to the damage to the communications cable between Sweden and Estonia," Bohlin said.
Sweden confirmed on Oct. 23 that the damage was inflicted upon the cable deliberately.
In response to the damage to the Sweden-Estonia cable and Finland-Estonia pipeline, NATO has increased its surveillance in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish government also said it would increase patrols.
"Due to recent events, maritime surveillance is conducted more intensively," the announcment said.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin denied Russia's involvement in the sabotage of the Finland-Estonia pipeline.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Oleksiy Sorokin
