The Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Ball Blazer]

Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, “without preconditions” to achieve “lasting peace” and “eliminate the root causes” of the three-year conflict.

The offer, delivered early on Sunday, came hours after the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The leaders, who were meeting in Kyiv, said their call is backed by United States President Donald Trump and threatened “massive” new sanctions on Moscow if it did not agree with their plan.

Putin, however, rejected that proposal, slamming European “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric”, before outlining the counter-proposal for renewed Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” the Russian president told reporters. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday told Russian and French leaders that a “historic turning point” has been reached in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and that Ankara was ready to host talks between the two warring parties, his office said.

NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.

US President Donald Trump described the talks offer a “potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine”.

“I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks a “positive sign,”, adding that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”

“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” he posted on X.

‘No preconditions’
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the first weeks of the conflict, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held direct talks in Istanbul, but failed to agree to halt the fighting.

Putin said Russia was proposing restarting the talks in an attempt to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” rather than simply a pause for rearmament.

“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,” he added.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025...ct-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul-on-may-15

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Ukraine says Russia fired barrage of drones amid calls for ceasefire, talks

Ukraine has said Russia fired more than 100 drones overnight, despite attempts from Kyiv’s allies to get Moscow to begin a 30-day ceasefire and the prospect of direct talks proposed by Russia for later this week in Turkiye’s Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the possibility of US President Donald Trump’s participation in talks with Russia in Turkiye on Thursday and said he hoped Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not “evade the meeting”.

He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “can indeed host highest-level meeting”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier said that Russia is “completely ignoring” a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and European powers that was to have begun on Monday,

Ukrainian air defences destroyed 55 of the 108 drones that Russia launched since 11pm (20:00 GMT) on Sunday, its air force said in a statement on Monday, the day to begin the ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and its European allies to Russia.

The attacks also included 30 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything. Drones were shot down in the east, north, south and central parts of Ukraine, the air force said.

Ukraine says Russia fired barrage of drones amid calls for ceasefire, talks

Ukrainian authorities say ceasefire proposals are being ‘ignored’ as new drone attacks damage civilian infrastructure.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Putin not listed in Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Turkey - and Trump also not attending

Vladimir Putin has not been listed in a Russian delegation expected to head to Turkey for ceasefire talks on Thursday with Ukraine.

The Russian president signed an order on Wednesday detailing who would be in the group to Istanbul, including presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Galuzin Mikhail Yuryevich, and deputy minister of defence Alexander Fomin.

On Sunday, Mr Putin had proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine over the war, to be held on Thursday "without any preconditions", and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called on the Russian president to meet him in Istanbul.

Putin not listed in Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Turkey - and Trump also not attending

President Trump had said he was "thinking" of going to Turkey if Vladimir Putin would be there.

news.sky.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Putin not on Kremlin list of officials attending Ukraine peace talks in Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the names listed by the Kremlin as due to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, despite calls from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.

Russia's delegation will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kremlin statement.

Zelensky had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed, and said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place.

The Ukrainian president will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Putin not on Kremlin list of officials attending Ukraine peace talks in Turkey

The Russian president had been challenged by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to meet in person at the talks on Thursday.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Trump and Putin needed for breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks, Rubio says

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio says he does not have high expectations for Ukraine-Russia peace talks due to be held in Turkey - and that Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin need to meet for progress to be made.

"I don't think we're going to have a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin interact directly on this topic," he said after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in southern Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukraine would send a delegation for the talks in Istanbul, but criticised the "low-level" delegation being sent by Moscow.

Its head, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, insisted the Kremlin team had "all the necessary competencies".

Earlier in the day, Trump - who is visiting the Middle East - also suggested that significant progress in peace talks was unlikely until he and Putin met in person.

Asked by the BBC on board Air Force One if he was disappointed by the level of the Russian delegation, he said: "Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together".

"He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," he added. "But we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."

Trump said he would attend talks in Turkey on Friday if it was "appropriate" but later said he would probably return to Washington.

Delegations from Turkey, the US, Ukraine and Russia had been due to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first face-to-face Ukraine-Russia talks since 2022. As of Thursday evening, no time for them to take place had been set. Some reports suggest they may now happen on Friday.

Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks on 15 May in Istanbul in response to a call by European leaders and Ukraine for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

Zelensky then challenged Putin to meet him in person, but on Thursday the Kremlin said that the Russian president was not among officials due to travel.

Following a bilateral meeting with Erdogan in Ankara, Zelensky accused Moscow of "disrespect" towards Trump and Erdogan because of the Russian delegation's lack of seniority and reiterated his challenge to the Russian leader to meet him personally.

"No time of the meeting, no agenda, no high-level of delegation - this is personal disrespect to Erdogan, to Trump," he said.

Meanwhile, Medinsky told reporters in Istanbul that Russia saw the talks as a "continuation" of failed negotiations in 2022 that took place shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

"The task of direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side is to sooner or later reach the establishment of long-term peace by eliminating the basic root causes of the conflict," Medinsky said.

The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by its Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, according to a decree from Zelensky issued on Thursday. It will also include its deputy heads of intelligence, military general staff and foreign ministry.

Medinsky, who led previous rounds of failed negotiations with Ukraine in 2022, will lead the Russian delegation, a statement from the Kremlin said. Russia's deputy defence minister, deputy foreign minister and military intelligence head will also be there.

The Istanbul talks mark the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the unsuccessful effort in 2022.

Russia has indicated it wants to pick up where they left off.

The terms under discussion included demands for Ukraine to become a neutral country, cut the size of its military and abandon Nato membership ambitions - conditions that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected as tantamount to capitulation.

Fighting in Ukraine rages on, with Russia saying its forces had captured two more villages in the eastern Dontesk region on Thursday.

Moscow now controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

UK Defence Minister John Healey called on Ukraine's allies to "put pressure on Putin". Speaking after a meeting with German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday, Healey urged further sanctions on Russia "to bring him to the negotiating table".

BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

"Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters"

Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end the conflict, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour.

The talks in an Istanbul palace lasted well under two hours. Russia expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said it was ready to continue contacts. Both countries said they had agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war in what would be the biggest such exchange yet.

But Kyiv, which wants the West to impose tighter sanctions unless Moscow accepts a proposal from Trump for a 30-day ceasefire, immediately began rallying its allies for tougher action.

As soon as the talks ended, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a phone call with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland, Zelenskiy's spokesperson said.

Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory in order to obtain a ceasefire "and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions".

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Russian position was "clearly unacceptable" and that European leaders, Ukraine and the U.S. were "closely aligning" their responses.

A European diplomatic source said: "Nothing came out of these discussions." Zelenskiy said robust sanctions should follow if Russia rejected a ceasefire.

Russia's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters that his team had "taken note" of the Ukrainians' request for direct talks between Zelenskiy and President Vladimir Putin. Putin had spurned a challenge from the Ukrainian leader to meet him in Istanbul this week.

Source: Reuters

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Ukraine and Russia far apart in direct talks, but prisoner swap agreed

More than three years into Europe's deadliest war since 1945, there was a small step forward for democracy on Friday.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia came face to face for talks for the first time since March 2022 – one month after Moscow invaded its neighbour. The setting was an Ottoman- era palace on the shores of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

Pressure and encouragement from Turkey and the US helped get the warring parties there.

There were no handshakes, and half the Ukrainian delegation wore camouflage military fatigues – a reminder that their nation is under attack.

The room was decked with Ukrainian, Turkish and Russian flags – two of each – and a large flower arrangement – a world away from the shattered cities and swollen graveyards of Ukraine.

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, told the delegations there were two paths ahead – one road leading to peace, and the other leading to more death and destruction.

The talks lasted less than two hours and sharp divisions soon emerged. The Kremlin made "new and unacceptable demands," according to a Ukrainian official. That included insisting Kyiv withdraw its troops from large parts of its own territory, he said, in exchange for a ceasefire.

While there was no breakthrough on the crucial issue of a truce – as expected - there is news of one tangible result.

Each side will return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other.

"This was the very good end to a very difficult day," said Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence Serhiy Kyslytsya, and "potentially excellent news for 1,000 Ukrainian families."

The swap will take place soon, said Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led his country's delegation. "We know the date," he said, "we're not announcing it just yet."

He said "the next step" should be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Ukraine and Russia far apart in direct talks, but prisoner swap agreed

The talks lasted just over 90 minutes and there were few signs of any progress on ending the war.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine

Nine people have been killed in a Russian drone strike on a passenger bus in north-eastern Ukraine, local officials say.

The Sumy regional military administration said four other people were injured in the town of Bilopillia on Saturday morning.

Medics, emergency services personnel and police are now working at the scene.

The reported attack comes just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022.

In a post on Telegram, the Sumy regional military administration said: "As a result of an enemy drone hitting a commuter bus near Bilopillya, nine people were killed and four injured."

It added that the bus was heading towards the regional capital Sumy.

In a video message, Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov described the Russian attack as "inhumane".

Citing preliminary information, he said the bus was hit by a Russian Lancet drone at 06:17 local time on Saturday (03:17 GMT).

The Russian military has not commented on the issue.

Friday's talks in Istanbul, Turkey, did not lead to any breakthrough as Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on how to end the war.

However, it was agreed that each side would return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other in the coming days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine

Another four people are injured in Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region, local officials say.

www.bbc.com

 

[Ball Blazer]

Russia launches biggest drone attack since invasion began, says Ukraine

Ukraine says Russia has launched its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began, targeting several regions including Kyiv, where one woman died.

Russia had launched 273 drones by 08:00 Sunday (05:00 GMT) targeting the central Kyiv region and Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the east, Ukraine's air force said.

The barrage has come just a day before a scheduled call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US President has been urging a ceasefire.

Russian and Ukraine had their first face-to-face talks in more than three years on Friday in Turkey, but it yielded little besides a new prisoner swap deal.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he and leaders of Britain, France, and Poland would have a virtual meeting with Trump before his conversation with Putin on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia had launched a record number of drones, including Shahed attack drones, of which 88 were intercepted and another 128 went astray "without negative consequences".

The strikes killed one person on the outskirts of Kyiv, and injured at least three others, officials reported.

The previous largest drone attack from Russia had taken place on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 23 February, when Moscow launched 267 drones.

Source: BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

US President Donald Trump is due to hold separate phone calls with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine

Trump is due to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin at 14:00 GMT. After that, he will have phone conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders.

Russia’s preconditions ‘unacceptable’ to Ukraine

All of the preconditions that Putin is asking for are unacceptable to Zelenskyy and to the Ukrainian government here – they would be upset to accept those terms at the end of an agreement; for them to be preconditions is really a non-starter.

That’s why Zelenskyy has said that he was really disappointed with the meeting in Istanbul which, he said, was carried out with low-level officers who had very little room to make any kinds of decisions.

They did come out with a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners on each side but other than that, really nothing – and that is because of that tough Russian stance.

Meanwhile, Russia has accelerated strikes here in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, and all of that has really suggested to the Ukrainians that Russia is not serious about this process.

That’s what Zelenskyy has said and that’s likely to be what he will say in his own call with Trump a little later today.

Source: Al Jazeera

 

[Cricket Warrior]

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have spoken on the phone for more than two hours amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine.

Russian state media quote Putin as saying his country is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that establishes a ceasefire.


al Jazeera

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia and Ukraine to 'immediately' start ceasefire talks, says Trump

US President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" start negotiating towards a ceasefire and an end to the war, after a two-hour phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump, who described the conversation as having gone "very well", also said conditions for peace would need to be negotiated between the two parties.

Despite the note of optimism from Trump, who also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, any ceasefire or peace deal does not appear close.

Putin said he was ready to work with Ukraine on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement", while Zelensky said "this is a defining moment", and urged the US not to distance itself from talks.

In his remarks, the Russian president did not address demands from the US and European countries for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

After his one-on-one call with Trump, Zelensky reaffirmed Ukraine's desire for a "full and unconditional ceasefire", and warned if Moscow is not ready, "there must be stronger sanctions".

Speaking earlier before Trump's conversation with Putin, Zelensky said he had asked that any decisions about Ukraine were not made without his country, calling them "matters of principles" for Ukraine.

He added he did not have any details on a "memorandum" but said once they have received anything from the Russians, they will "be able to formulate their vision accordingly".

Writing on his Truth Social page after the call, Trump said: "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," adding he had informed Zelensky of this in a second call, which also included other world leaders.

He added: "The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of."

Zelensky said the negotiation process "must involve both American and European representatives at the appropriate level".

"It is crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace, because the only one who benefits from that is Putin," he explained.

Talking at a White House event later in the day, Trump said the US would not be stepping away from brokering talks between Russia and Ukraine, but that he has a "red line in his head" on when he will stop pushing on them both.

He also denied that the US was stepping back from its negotiating role.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly warned that the US would step away from negotiations as he became increasingly frustrated at the lack of developments from both Moscow and Kyiv in the way of peace.

When asked on what he believes on Russia, he said he thinks Putin has had enough of the war and wants it to end.

Meanwhile, Putin - who described the call with Trump, which he took from a music school on a visit to the city of Sochi, as "frank, informative and constructive" - also spoke of the potential for a ceasefire.

"We have agreed with the US president that Russia will offer and is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement," he said.

This, he added would define "a number of positions" including "principles of the settlement and a timeline for concluding a possible peace agreement...including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, should relevant agreements be reached".

Yury Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, said a ceasefire timeframe was not "discussed... although Trump, of course, emphasises his interest in reaching one or another agreement as soon as possible".

Zelensky held a second call with Trump after the US president spoke to Putin, which also included President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of France, Italy, Germany and Finland.

"I want to thank President Trump for his tireless efforts to bring a ceasefire to Ukraine," von der Leyen said, adding: "It's important that the US stays engaged."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Pope Leo's offer to host potential peace talks was a gesture welcomed by the US and the other leaders in the call, and "judged positively".

Earlier this month, the new Pope offered the Vatican as a venue for possible peace talks after Putin turned down Zelensky's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey for negotiations.

Kyiv has previously said Putin's comments saying he desires peace are hollow.

"Putin wants war," Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president, said after Russia on Sunday launched what Ukraine said was its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukraine says at least 10 people have been killed in Russian strikes in recent days - including nine people in an attack on a civilian minibus in north-eastern Ukraine. Russia says it has also intercepted Ukrainian drones.

The strike on the bus happened just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face talks in more than three years. A prisoner swap was agreed but there was no commitment to a ceasefire.

Trump had offered to attend the talks in Turkey if Putin would also be there, but the Russian president declined to go.

Russia has declared ceasefires before - but only temporary ones. It declared one for 8-11 May - which coincided with victory celebrations to mark the end of World War Two - but Kyiv would not sign up to it, saying Putin could not be trusted and that an immediate 30-day ceasefire was needed.

The Kremlin announced a similar, 30-hour truce over Easter, but while both sides reported a dip in fighting, they accused each other of hundreds of violations.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Six Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian strike on training exercise

A Russian missile strike on a training exercise in Ukraine's Sumy border region has killed six servicemen and wounded more than 10 others, says Ukraine's National Guard.

Russia's defence ministry had earlier released a video purporting to show an Iskander missile attack on a training camp, and state news agency Tass said up to 70 people had died.

The Sumy region has come under repeated bombardment, and Ukraine launched a months-long occupation of part of Russia's neighbouring Kursk region from there.

The Ukrainian military said the aim of the offensive had been to help create a buffer zone to protect Sumy, but some have complained of the scale of military losses.

Separately, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had visited officials in Kursk the previous day, in his first visit to the region since Ukrainian forces were pushed out.

He met volunteers as well as acting local governor Alexander Khinshtein, and he toured a nearby nuclear power plant, state media reported.

The deadly Russian strike on Ukrainian servicemen in Sumy was confirmed early on Wednesday by Ukraine's National Guard, which said the attack took place while the unit was carrying out exercises at a firing range. The commander was suspended and an official investigation launched, it added.

The unverified Russian military video showed dozens of servicemen walking on a path near a wooded area followed by an explosion and a large plume of smoke.

Research by BBC Verify showed the training camp was targeted in the far north of the Sumy region, some way south of the Russian border.

The attack comes as a heavy blow to the Ukrainian military, and the National Guard said it had previously developed an "algorithm of actions" as well as orders to deal with the threat of air strikes and people gathered in one place.

Ukraine's general staff said this week that it had thwarted Russia's bid to establish a "security zone" in Sumy region, and argued that its Kursk operation had "strategic significance", forcing Russia to divert its "most capable units" to tackle the offensive.

The Kremlin also sent thousands of North Koreans soldiers to the region in a bid to recapture the area.

However, last week a battalion commander called Oleksandr Shyrshyn was quoted as criticising the "moronic tasks" set by the military leadership as well as unjustified losses.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has since annexed four eastern regions of Ukraine's sovereign territory, including large areas that remain under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine's Kursk offensive has not succeeded in halting Russia's push to capture more territory in the east, although its advance along the front lines has been very slow.

Ukrainian forces on the eastern flanks say Russia launched 14 attacks overnight towards Druzhba, Petrivka, and Toretsk.

A Ukrainian soldier close to the eastern city of Pokrovsk told the BBC that there has been a major push by Russian forces there too.

He said invading troops had targeted a major road that is used as a supply line, adding that they had been struggling to hold their positions for some time.

Hopes of an imminent ceasefire in the war are fading, despite low-level talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul last Friday.

Although US President Donald Trump suggested the Vatican might mediate further talks, the Vatican said the idea of hosting, or even mediating talks was more a hope for now than any concrete plan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected Russia to present its "broad terms that would allow us to move towards a ceasefire", however Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is merely "trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation".

BBC

 

[Ball Blazer]

Ukrainian ex-top official shot dead outside Madrid school​

A former leading Ukrainian official has been shot dead outside an American school in the Spanish capital Madrid, authorities have confirmed.

Andriy Portnov, 51, had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city.

At least one unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, witnesses said.

Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president ousted in 2014 after months of protests.

He had previously been an MP in Yulia Tymoshenko's governing party.

He left Ukraine after the revolution only to return in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president.

He then left Ukraine again, and in 2021 was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been "widely known as a court fixer" who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts.
Source: BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russia and Ukraine have completed the first phase of what is expected to be the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war, with almost 800 people released on Friday

The swap started on Friday and will continue on Saturday and Sunday, with Kyiv and Moscow expected to swap 2,000 people – 1,000 from each side.

The agreement to release 1,000 prisoners on each side was the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week, which marked the first time the two sides have met directly since soon after Russia’s full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We are bringing our people home,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X, adding that 390 people arrived back to Ukraine on Friday. He said the group included 270 military and 120 civilians.

Ukrainian prisoners wave flags in celebration after the swap on Friday.

The Ukrainian Coordination Center for Treatment of Prisoners of War said three women and 387 men were among those released on Friday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians” were returned to Russia. It said the civilians were captured by Ukrainian troops in Kursk, the Russian region to which Ukraine launched a surprise incursion last summer. Russia has since reclaimed most of the territory.

However, Zelensky said later that the Russian civilians returned by Ukraine were “Russian saboteurs and collaborators” who were arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement officers.

As in previous exchanges, the released prisoners were brought to a meeting place in several buses after being released by Russia at the Ukrainian border. Many were given Ukrainian flags and bracelets in Ukrainian colours at the border.

Photos and videos released by the Ukrainian government showed dozens of men wearing military fatigues, most of them with their heads shaved, posing wrapped in flags.

Several of the released men could be seen speaking to their loved ones over the phone, some breaking into tears as they hear the voices on the other side.

One video showed people from villages along the route of the convoy coming out with flags, greeting the returnees.

“I feel joy because I’m home, that’s all. I’m happy for you, for us, that we came… we prayed and asked for this to happen,” Vasyl Gulyach, who spent two and a half years in captivity, told CNN.

CNN also spoke to Anton Kobylnyk, a 29-year-old who spent over three years in captivity. “I am yours, I received your letter,” he told his girlfriend Yulia on the phone. “What you have done, waiting for me for these 37 months, is a very great feat on your part and an invaluable contribution to our relationship,” he told her.

Source: CNN

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia launches major aerial attack on Ukraine capital

At least 14 people have been injured in a major Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, city authorities say.

Russia launched 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles against Kyiv, Ukraine's air force said, causing fires in residential buildings. It was one of the biggest combined aerial assaults on the city since the war began. The air force said it had downed six missiles and 245 drones.

"With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

The barrage came hours after Russia and Ukraine took part in a prisoner swap agreed after talks between the two countries' officials in Turkey.

Describing a "difficult night", Zelensky said there had been fires and explosions across Kyiv with homes, businesses and cars damaged by strikes or falling debris.

Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old local resident who lives just outside central Kyiv, told Reuters news agency: "I wish they'd agree to a ceasefire. To bomb people like this - poor children. My three-year-old granddaughter was screaming scared."

Zelensky said only "additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy" could push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.

Last week, Russia said Ukraine had launched hundreds of exploding drones at the country, including strikes over Moscow. The Russia's Ministry of Defence said that 485 drones had been shot down.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russian strikes kill eight across Ukraine, officials say

At least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured across Ukraine in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks, regional officials have said.

Four deaths were reported in Ukraine's western Khmelnytskyi region. Three more deaths were reported in the Kyiv region, and one in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

It comes a day after Kyiv suffered one of the heaviest assaults since the start of the Russian invasion, with Russian aerial attacks killing at least 13.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defence units shot down or intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over a number of Russian regions, including Moscow, during a four-hour period on Saturday night. No casualties were reported.

The drone attack forced a brief suspension of all flights at Moscow's airports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

This includes Crimea - Ukraine's southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

In a statement on Facebook, Khmelnytskyi regional head Serhiy Tyurin said four people were killed and another five were injured in the Russian attacks.

"Six private houses were destroyed, and another 20 damaged," he added.

Kyiv regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said three people were killed and 10 others were injured.

He posted on social media photos of several houses set ablaze after the Russian strikes.

In the capital Kyiv, local officials reported 11 injuries, multiple fires and damage to residential buildings, including a dormitory.

Hundreds of people were seen sheltering in underground stations of the city's metro. It comes as the capital marks its annual Kyiv Day holiday on Sunday.

In Mykolaiv, Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS said the body of an elderly man was pulled out from a five-storey residential building hit by a drone. Another five people were injured.

In Kharkiv, regional authorities reported three injuries.

In Russia, the defence ministry said that Ukrainian drones targeted eight Russian regions.

"From 20:00 Moscow time (17:00 GMT) on 24 May to 00:00 on 25 May, air defence units on duty destroyed and intercepted 95 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 12 drones heading towards the capital were shot down.

He added that emergency services crews were deployed to assess damage caused by falling drone debris.

In the Tula region, just south of Moscow, drone wreckage crashed in the courtyard of a residential building, smashing windows in a number of apartments, local governor Dmitriy Milyaev said.

No-one was injured, he added.

The attacks came as Russia and Ukraine take part in prisoner swaps agreed after talks between the two sides in Turkey.

On Friday, Ukraine and Russia each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia launched its full-scale assault in February 2022.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that another 307 Ukrainian prisoners had returned home as part of an exchange deal with the Kremlin.

The two countries have agreed to swap a total of 1,000 prisoners each, and another exchange is expected on Sunday.

The swap follows the first face-to-face talks between the two sides in three years, which took place in Turkey.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump and Putin had a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed Ukraine ceasefire deal.

Trump said he believed the call had gone "very well", and added that Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start" negotiations toward a ceasefire and "an end to the war".

However, Putin has only said Russia would work with Ukraine to craft a "memorandum" on a "possible future peace", and has not accepted a 30-day ceasefire.

BBC

 

[Ball Blazer]

Russia makes largest aerial attack of war on Ukraine, Trump says Putin has 'gone absolutely CRAZY', considering more sanctions on Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY" by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Trump posted the remark on Truth Social as sleeping Ukrainians woke to a third consecutive night of Russian aerial attacks, listening for hours to drones buzzing near their homes and eruptions of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 355 drones and nine cruise missiles against Ukraine overnight, a huge salvo that the air force's spokesman told Reuters made it Russia's largest drone attack of the war to date.
"Something has happened to him (Putin). He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump said of the Russian president on Truth Social, referring to the previous night's attack by Russia.

Source: Reuters