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.
US President Donald Trump (L) chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Nov. 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev / SPUTNIK / AFP via Getty Images)
Editor's note: The article was updated with comments from Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper chamber, and ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin.
Several Russian officials on Nov. 6 voiced their first reactions to Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, with some presenting it as a blow to Ukraine.
"Trump has one quality that is useful to us: as a businessman to the core, he hates spending money on freeloaders, on idiotic allies, charity projects, and greedy international organizations," former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
Trump claimed victory in a presidential vote on Nov. 5, defeating his Democratic challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris. The election is expected to have a profound impact on Washington's support for Kyiv, as there are fears Trump might withdraw support.
Medvedev, currently serving as deputy chairman of Russia's National Security and Defense Council, nevertheless said that a "bipartisan anti-Russian consensus" remains strong in the U.S. Congress.
"The question: is how much will they force Trump to give for the war," he wrote.
The Republican Party has secured a majority in the Senate in a parallel vote, while the election results in the House are still being counted.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of Russia's Foreign Ministry, said on her Telegram channel that "those who live by love for their country, and not by hatred for others, win."
Publishing a video of Harris quoting a Biblical passage, "Weeping may tarry for a night, but joy comes in the morning," Zakharova added: "Hallelujah, I'll add on my own."
Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper chamber, said that Russia is ready for cooperation and dialogue with the new U.S. leadership but does not expect significant changes in Washington's policy.
"I think there shouldn't be too high expectations. It doesn't seem that U.S. policy will change dramatically," Matviyenko commented, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin said that he is "really happy" about Trump's victory, claiming that "we have won."
Dugin, a fervent supporter of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has long been an advocate of Russian imperialism and a leading figure of Russia's turn toward hardline nationalism and authoritarian rule.
"That is decisive. The world will be never ever like before. Globalists have lost their final combat. The future is finally open," he wrote on social media.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he is not aware of any plans by Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate Trump, as the U.S. is an unfriendly country "involved in a war against Russia."
A number of world leaders have congratulated Trump on his reelection, including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and many others.
Putin claimed indifference to the result of the vote and once even said he would prefer Harris as a president in an apparent wry remark, while U.S. intelligence has accused Russia of election interference to boost Trump.
Trump has repeatedly boasted about his supposedly close relationship with Putin, prompting fears he might seek a deal with Moscow at the cost of painful concessions on Ukraine's part.
His plan to end the war within "24 hours" and get the U.S. "out" of Ukraine would benefit Russia by ceding Ukrainian territory and creating autonomous regions in the east, according to reporting in October.
"Trump's view is he wants to do everything he can to help Putin because for whatever reason he likes these strong men, he's fascinated by him in particular," Evelyn Farkas, the executive director of the McCain Institute, said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent.
Martin Fornusek
