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."
Soldiers of the Adam Group operate an FPV drone at front-line positions in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 3, 2023. (Francis Farrell/Kyiv Independent)
Russian forces have almost doubled first-person view drone (FPV) attacks in three southern regions of Ukraine over the past day, Ukraine's Southern Command reported on March 24.
FPV drones are cheap to manufacture. They offer precise targeting capabilities and can be flown directly into targets, possessing the capacity to destroy significantly more costly military hardware.
Over the past day, the Russian forces deployed 234 FPV drones in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, increasing their number by almost 40%, according to the report.
Drones play a wide-ranging role on both sides of Russia's war against Ukraine, from basic reconnaissance to long-range strikes deep behind the enemy's lines. The full-scale invasion has fueled a significant increase in the production of drones, as well as their technical innovation.
The same day, Russian forces carried out pinpoint strikes with cruise and ballistic missiles in the Mykolaiv Oblast, with a hit recorded in open territory outside populated areas.
No casualties were reported in the Mykolaiv Oblast attacks.
The Ukrainian military also said that Russian forces deployed 13 Lancet combat drones and dropped 269 munitions from various drones over the past day.
“There is a steady trend of at least a 15% increase daily. But our electronic warfare systems are effectively combatting them,” the Southern Command said in a Telegram post.
Alexander Khrebet is a reporter with the Kyiv Independent. He covers Ukraine’s foreign policy, alleged abuse of power in the country’s military leadership, and reports on the Russian-occupied territories. Alexander is the European Press Prize 2023 winner, the #AllForJan Award 2023 winner and Ukraine's 2022 National Investigative Journalism Award finalist. His was published in the Washington Times and Atlantic Council.
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