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"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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Sunday, May 11
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.
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US: Russia's deliberate slowdown of inspections delaying grain shipments from Ukraine
• 2 min read
Russia's continued blocking of Ukraine's Black Sea ports and deliberate slowdown of ship inspections are delaying crucial grain shipments around the world, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on Jan. 13.
Following Russia's Black Sea blockade of Ukraine's ports in the early days of the full-scale invasion, a U.N-backed deal in July allowed grain shipments to partially resume from some ports.
Since then, Russia has been accused of deliberately holding up inspections to slow down grain shipments in an effort to discredit the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia has also falsely alleged that grain shipments have not made it to countries that need it most.
According to Greenfield, Russia’s attacks and continued blocking of some Ukrainian ports have decreased Ukraine’s food exports by approximately 30 percent.
"Here’s the truth: The Initiative’s operations are not keeping pace with the strong global demand for Black Sea grain. Due to Russia’s deliberate slowdown of inspections, dozens of ships are waiting to depart. And dozens more are waiting for inspections before they can bring their grain cargo to the world," Greenfield said.
The backlog in shipments has left 2.5 million tons of grains "just sitting there, waiting to move, Greenfield also said, "and farmers in Ukraine are waiting plant." Some ships have been waiting for over a month to leave the ports.
The UN-backed Grain Initiative aimed to move five million tons of food per month from Ukraine's ports. According to Greenfield, grain is currently moving at half the rate of the pace back in September and October.
"The world’s hungry deserve nothing less. Today, I’m asking members of the Council to join us in urging Russia to scale up cooperation immediately," Greenfield said.
Explainer: What’s up with the ‘grain deal’ and Russia?
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