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. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a press conference on Nov. 15, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The U.S. Senate will hold a vote on President Joe Biden's billion-dollar aid request for Ukraine and Israel as early as Dec. 4, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to senators Nov. 26.
"I intend to bring the President’s national security supplemental package to the floor as soon as the week of December 4th," Schumer said.
He also said the "biggest holdup" in passing the security assistance package was the Republican's party's demand that Ukraine funding be tied to U.S. border policy.
"This has injected a decades old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities," Schumer said in the letter.
Mike Turner, chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, said on Nov. 26 that conflict over border policy would likely prevent the aid bill from passing before the end of 2023.
Congressional Republicans are lobbying for enhanced restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, and have said they will only consider funding for Ukraine if the bill includes border security provisions.
Amid Republican stonewalling and congressional turmoil, Biden signed two emergency funding bills that included no aid for Ukraine.
Schumer's announcement sets a deadline for negotiations in the Senate.
"Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans have continued through the Thanksgiving holiday. We will need bipartisan cooperation and compromise to achieve a reasonable, realistic agreement that both sides can support," he said.
Biden's latest security assistance request earmarks over $61 billion in funding for Ukraine.
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.
Anastasiia Malenko
