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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone on Nov. 28, 2023. (President of Ukraine)
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Zelensky said on Nov. 27.
Ahead of the European Council meeting in December, Zelensky said they discussed Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission for the start of negotiations on joining the EU.
"Our country will continue to fulfill all its commitments, in particular those pertaining to national minority rights and strengthening anticorruption institutions," Zelensky said.
Both Ukraine and Moldova received recommendations from the European Commission on Nov. 8 to begin formal negotiations on their accession to the European Union.
“Today is a historic day, because today the Commission recommends that the council opens accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova," Von der Leyen said.
"Ukraine has completed...well over 90% of the necessary steps that we set out last year in our report."
Ukraine expects a formal decision from the European Council in mid-December.
Oleksiy Sorokin
