"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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.
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. lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, according to a May 23 press release from Congressman Adam Schiff's office.
The signatories of the letter wrote that past precedents, such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and former U.S. President George W. Bush transferring $1.7 billion in Iraqi government funds to U.S. victims of terrorism paved the way for the U.S. to "repurpose Russian central bank assets frozen pursuant to U.S. sanctions to deliver much-needed assistance to Ukraine."
Each dollar would "make a critical difference" in Ukraine's war effort, given that the country's current budget requirements are estimated at $5 billion each month.
Ukraine's post-war reconstruction efforts will take over 10 years and cost upwards of $411 billion, the press release added.
The Kyiv School of Economics reported in late March that Russia's war against Ukraine had caused over $138 billion in damages across the country, including an estimated $36.2 billion in damages to infrastructure.
Other countries are already navigating the intricate legal procedures necessary to transfer Russian assets frozen after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A press release from the Council of the European Union in mid-April reported that "intensive efforts are being made to enable frozen Russian assets to be used in the reconstruction of Ukraine."

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