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.
"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."
Screenshot of a video that purports to show flames rising from Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery amid a drone attack on Jan. 26, 2025. (Andrii Kovalenko / Telegram)
The Ryazan Oil Refinery in Russia has suspended operations due to damage from Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters reported on Jan. 27, citing two industry sources.
Ukraine confirmed hitting the plant in an overnight drone strike on Jan. 24.
Oil storage facilities caught fire during the attack, sources told Reuters. The strike damaged a railway loading track and a hydroeater unit, which removes impurities from refined products.
"The railway loading equipment has been damaged. There have been no railways loadings, they stopped oil processing," one source said.
Another said the facility suspended all loadings since Jan. 24.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SOS) launched a joint attack against the refinery on Jan. 24. An SBU source told the Kyiv Independent that the strike caused fires at three oil depots and a workshop.
Local residents reported another attack on the plant two nights later, circulating footage of explosions and fires at the site. The Kyiv Independent could not confirm whether the images depicted a new attack or the previous strike.
The Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia's largest, has the capacity to process 17 million metric tons of oil per year. According to Reuters, the facility accounted for nearly 5% of Russia's total refining in 2024.
Kyiv considers oil refineries to be valid military targets, as profits from the fossil fuel industry fund Russia's war machine. Ukraine previously attacked the Ryazan refinery in May 2024.
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
