Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
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.
Illustrative purposes only: Ukrainian forces successfully down a Shahed-type drone over the skies of Sumy Oblast on Jan. 9, 2024. (Sumy Oblast Military Administration/Telegram)
Ukraine’s air defense downed 359 Shahed kamikaze drones since the beginning of 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 11.
Russia has been using Iranian-designed Shahed-type loitering munitions to attack Ukrainian cities since September 2022, regularly resulting in casualties among civilians.
“The accuracy of our air defence, the work of the electronic warfare systems, and the support from each of our partners in terms of the sky shield literally save lives,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
The president also said that Ukraine is working to increase the effectiveness of the mobile firing groups and to provide even more regions of Ukraine with electronic warfare systems.
“This is one of the key priorities of the year,” said Zelensky.
The air defense shot down 40 Shahed drones across Ukraine overnight, the majority of what Russia forces have launched against the country.
The Air Force reported on the morning of Feb. 11 that Russia attacked Ukraine with 45 drones launched from occupied Crimea.
From the onset of the full-scale invasion, the Russian military has utilized occupied Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine as launch sites for missiles and other weapons targeting Ukraine.
Anti-aircraft missile units, mobile firing groups, and electronic warfare equipment were involved in repelling the air attack, according to the report.
The drones were destroyed over Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Dnipro, and Kherson oblasts.
Alexander Khrebet is a reporter with the Kyiv Independent. He covers Ukraine’s foreign policy, alleged abuse of power in the country’s military leadership, and reports on the Russian-occupied territories. Alexander is the European Press Prize 2023 winner, the #AllForJan Award 2023 winner and Ukraine's 2022 National Investigative Journalism Award finalist. His was published in the Washington Times and Atlantic Council.
Daria Shulzhenko
