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.
Traffic across the Paton Bridge to the left-bank neighborhoods of the city on July 5, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Editor's note: The story was updated with comments by Kyiv authorities.
Explosions were reported in Kyiv on the morning of Sept. 26 almost immediately after an air raid alert went off in the city, but authorities later denied Russia had attacked the capital.
Ukraine's Air Force said that the alert had been prompted by the launch of a Mig-31K aircraft, a carrier of Kinzhal ballistic missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine.
Three missiles were launched, according to a statement, but the Kyiv City Military Administration later said that Kyiv was not the target of the attack, and air defense systems were not activated.
"The enemy did not use missile weapons on the territory of Kyiv," it said.
No damage or casualties have been reported in Kyiv at this time.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that sounds of explosions could have been caused by the Kinzhal missile "breaking the sound barrier while flying over Kyiv" or "another physical phenomenon."
Explosions were also reported in the town of Starokostiantyniv in western Khmelnytskyi Oblast, which is the home of a Ukrainian air base.
Overnight, more than 15 drones were spotted near Kyiv, with around 10 of them downed by air defenses, the Kyiv City Military Administration said.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Sonya Bandouil
