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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the 61st Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 15, 2025. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The U.S. government has not restored funding for a program documenting Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference on March 28.
Rubio's statement came a day after the U.S. State Department announced that it would provide short-term funding to the initiative after the White House terminated the program.
"The program is not funded. It was part of the reductions that were made," Rubio said.
The initiative, run by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab under the State Department's Conflict Observatory, used biometric data and satellite imagery to track Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children.
At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, with only about 1,200 returned to Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Children of War database.
Yale's research — funded by the U.S. government — has helped track thousands of these cases.
Researchers reportedly lost access to the database last month after officials terminated the contract, cutting off critical evidence for war crimes investigations.
According to Rubio, the U.S. has secured the data and ensured that it can be transferred "to any appropriate authorities."
The multiple cuts to foreign funding have begun to affect international efforts to hold Russia accountable, including for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in 2023 due to their participation in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
As part of ongoing U.S.-Russia negotiations, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Walz said earlier in March that returning kidnapped Ukrainian children is among several "confidence-building measures" being discussed.
Ukrainian officials have named their return as a key condition for any future peace agreement with Russia.
Sonya Bandouil
