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.
An Orlan drone displayed during an open-air exhibition of destroyed Russian military equipment and tactical gear on Mykhailivska Square on June 15, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
A U.S. court indicted seven individuals and three companies for their alleged role in the transportation of dual-use technologies to Russia, according to a press statement released by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on Nov. 7.
The individuals and companies named, whose addresses are listed as being in the U.S., Russia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, were involved in a complex, multi-national scheme to export U.S.-produced electronic components to Russia, the BIS claimed.
The list includes H Brothers Group Inc., SN Electronics, Inc., and Suntronic F.Z.E, as well as Nikolay Goltsev, Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, Kristina Puzyreva, Oleg Zenchenko, Yekaterina Vetoshkina, Pavel Chernikov, and Vladimir Bochkarev.
The suspects received a number of charges, including smuggling, unlicensed export, and filing false reports. Their export privileges were also suspended pending the results of the case.
These components could be used in the manufacturing of precision-guided weapons produced by Russia's military-industry complex.
The scheme allegedly operated through two businesses registered in New York, which were used at the direction of procurement agents in Russia to purchase the materials and ship them through third-party countries to obfuscate that their final destination was Russia.
Some of the recipients in Russia included companies affiliated with the Russian military, the BIS said.
Electronic components shipped through the companies match the model numbers of parts in a variety of Russian weapons systems found in Ukraine, including Ka-52 helicopters, T-72B3 tanks, and Orlan drones, court documents showed.
The scheme allegedly made hundreds of shipments to Russia that totaled over $7 million.
Despite sanctions, Western-produced components have continued to flow to Russia, ending up in missiles and other weapons used to attack Ukraine. They are often exported through third-party countries.
Bloomberg reported on Oct. 31 that the European Union is considering passing a 12th round of sanctions, which in part aims to target Russia's ability to circumvent sanctions.
Although previous sanctions packages have also tried to block sanctions circumvention, there are still numerous loopholes.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Francis Farrell
