Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
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.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi attends a prayer breakfast for the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 6, 2024. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Long-range Ukrainian strikes on ammunition stockpiles in Russia brought down Moscow's artillery shell fire rate by almost half, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Lb. ua published on April 9.
Throughout 2024, Ukraine has carried out multiple drone strikes, targeting Russian ammunition depots inside Russia and in the Ukrainian occupied territories.
According to Syrskyi, Russian soldiers used to fire around 40,000 rounds of ammunition daily across, but a series of long-range attacks reduced this number to around 23,000.
"We continue to expand in this direction, increasing the number, scale and capabilities of deep strike (long-range operations) and have already passed the 1,700 kilometers mark. Our teams are also increasing the unmanned component," said Syrskyi.
Since then, Russia's fire rate has risen slightly, now sitting at between 27,000 and 28,000 rounds per day, the general said.
The general attributed this to possible supplies of shells from Moscow allies, North Korea or Iran, or to increased Russian production.
Ammunition shortages have plagued Ukraine over the course of Russia's full-scale invasion. The EU failed to deliver on its promise to produce 1 million artillery shells between March 2023 and 2024 while political disputes in Washington led to a severe delay in a $61 billion aid package.
In late December, Sky News reported, citing unnamed Western officials, that Russia's artillery advantage against Ukraine dropped to 1.5 rounds for each Ukrainian shell.
Even as Ukraine narrows the ammunition gap, Russian forces continue to push on Ukraine's east by launching a fresh offensive against Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Martin Fornusek
