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.
Illustrative photo of President Volodymyr Zelensky signing a document in his office in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)
Ukraine's bill on mobilization has been signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the online portal of Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on April 16.
The bill was passed in its second reading in parliament on April 11 and was signed by the speaker of the parliament on April 15. The bill was submitted for presidential signature earlier on April 16.
The bill on mobilization is a critical component of the Ukrainian political and military leadership's efforts to update the legal framework around conscription in order to ramp up mobilization in 2024.
After an initial, contentious version of the mobilization bill was withdrawn in January, a new, updated version passed the first reading on Feb. 7. Lawmakers have proposed over 4,000 amendments to the bill since then.
Several key provisions of the earlier draft law were eventually passed by the parliament separately, with President Volodymyr Zelensky signing three laws in early April: on the lowering of the conscription age to 25, the introduction of an electronic register for conscripts, and the canceling of the "partially eligible" status.
Of the provisions remaining in the bill, key points include the right of disabled soldiers and those who have returned from captivity to discharge themselves, and the introduction of mandatory medical commission checks for those who previously held the "partially eligible" status.
Other provisions include penalties for those deemed to be dodging the draft, including the potential revoking of consular services and driver's licenses.
The parliament also voted to remove provisions on demobilization, which previously foresaw soldiers having the right to leave the military after 36 months of service, from the bill so that they could be considered separately.
