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.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House has not come to a decision yet regarding the legal status of 240,000 Ukrainian refugees currently living in the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on March 6.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that the administration is planning to revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of these Ukrainians, potentially paving the way for their deportation.
Trump said he had not made a decision on the matter yet, but planned to do so "pretty soon." He also claimed that his administration did not want to hurt refugees from Ukraine.
"We're not looking to hurt anybody and we're certainly not looking to hurt them," Trump said.
"And I'm looking at that, and there were some people that think that's appropriate and some people don't, and I'll be making a decision pretty soon. But we're not looking to hurt them. Especially Ukrainians. They've gone through a lot."
According to four undisclosed sources who spoke to Reuters, the plan to revoke TPS predates Trump's public argument with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 28 and is part of the administration's broader crackdown on the more than 1.8 million people staying in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.
Later in the day, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt dismissed the report as "fake news," claiming that no decision had been made.
Trump, who campaigned intensively on promises to deport millions of migrants, began rolling back protections for Ukrainian and other refugees mere days after returning to the White House.
In late January, the administration suspended the Uniting for Ukraine program, which allowed Ukrainians to stay in the U.S. for up to two years. The program also granted refugees the right to work and receive health insurance.
Over 6 million Ukrainian citizens fled their homes in the wake of Russia's all-out invasion in 2022. Around 5.2 million remain abroad, with the vast majority receiving protection in EU countries.
Trump's decision on TPS could affect 240,000 Ukrainian refugees in the U.S.
The administration has come under scrutiny for its treatment of Ukraine, a longstanding ally, in contrast to its increasing warmth towards Russia. In recent days, the White House has frozen all military aid shipments and stopped intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Zelensky said on March 6 that the U.S. and Ukraine have resumed cooperation and that delegations will meet for talks next week.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
