Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
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.
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 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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on partners to speed up the provision of military aid to Ukraine in his online address at the Ramstein-8 meeting on Jan. 20. "Every unit (of supplied weaponry) helps to save our people from terror. But time – time remains a Russian weapon. We have to speed up," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's president emphasized he is "truly grateful" to all allies for the weapons delivered so far, but the war "doesn't allow delays."
"All of us can use thousands of words in discussions, but I cannot put words instead of guns that are needed against Russian artillery or instead of anti-aircraft missiles that are needed to protect people from Russian airstrikes," Zelensky said, adding that "hundreds of thank you are not hundreds of tanks."
Zelensky finished his speech by urging the summit participants to supply Western-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Sky News. Ukraine's allies have been reluctant to send this aircraft so far.
On Jan. 20, defense ministers from some 50 countries met at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further support for Ukraine.
According to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the main priorities of Ukraine to be discussed at the Jan. 20 Ramstein summit are air defense systems, weaponry for offensive operations, including tanks, howitzers, and ammunition, systematic ammunition supplies, as well as repair services for military equipment.
This is the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The previous one was held online on Nov. 16, 2022.
The Ramstein-8 meeting comes amid high tension over Germany's hesitations to provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks or allow their delivery by other countries.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 19. that Germany would only provide Leopards to Ukraine if the U.S. sends native M1 Abrams tanks first.
Responding to Scholz's comments, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said that "it doesn't make sense" for the U.S. to send Abrams tanks "at the moment."
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