"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.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
The withdrawal of the Russian "peacekeeping" contingent from Nagorno-Karabakh concluded on June 12, 2024, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said. (Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry)
The withdrawal of a Russian "peacekeeping" contingent from Nagorno-Karabakh concluded on June 12, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said.
Several thousand Russian "peacekeepers" were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2020 following an escalation of the years-long Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been de facto controlled by unrecognized ethnic Armenian authorities since the first war in the early 1990s but was internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
"The personnel, weapons, and equipment of the peacekeeping contingent have completely left our territory," the Azerbaijani ministry said.
Armenia has experienced heightened tensions with Russia after the Russian "peacekeepers" did nothing to prevent Azerbaijan's September offensive. The campaign ended in less than 24 hours with Azerbaijan's victory and the dissolution of the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
After Nagorno-Karabakh's surrender, around 100,000 Armenians, the majority of the population, left the region for Armenia.
In March, Armenia asked Russian "peacekeepers" stationed at Yerevan's international airport since the country's independence to leave.
Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan said in February that Armenia had "frozen" its participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) because it failed to uphold its objectives regarding Armenia. Yerevan is also not planning to partake in the financing of the CSTO.
Elsa Court
