[🇺🇦] Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russia demanded Ukraine cede more territory at Turkey talks, Ukrainian source says

Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters. That demand, along with others the Ukrainian official said we

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Russia demanded Ukraine cede more territory at Turkey talks, Ukrainian source says
REUTERS
Published :
May 17, 2025 16:33
Updated :
May 17, 2025 16:33

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chairs a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2025. Photo : Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.

That demand, along with others the Ukrainian official said were made at Friday's talks, went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow.

The talks in Istanbul, the first direct contacts between the two sides in three years, ended with agreement for a prisoner exchange but failed to agree to a ceasefire. A Ukrainian source had said on Friday the Russians had made conditions he described as "non-starters", without giving details.

At a briefing with reporters on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the terms that, according to the Ukrainian official, Moscow put forward, but he declined to comment, saying the discussions need to take place behind closed doors.

The Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of the talks, said Russian proposed the following terms for a peace deal:

* The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, only after which there can be a ceasefire. The regions are largely or partially controlled by Russian forces, but Ukrainian troops are still fighting to hold on to the remaining parts of the regions. There was no such demand in the draft deal prepared by the United States.

* International recognition that five parts of Ukraine -- the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions -- are Russian. The US draft had proposed only US de jure recognition for Crimea, and US de facto recognition for Russian-controlled parts of the other regions.

* Ukraine becomes a neutral state, has no weapons of mass destruction, and Kyiv's allies will not station any of their troops on Ukrainian soil. This demand was absent from the US proposal.

* All sides in the conflict renounce their claims to receive compensation for war damages. The US proposal had stipulated that Ukraine receives compensation.

According to the Ukrainian official, Russian negotiators transmitted those demands verbally, and did not share any document containing their terms.

Ukraine has already said the Russian negotiating position in Istanbul showed it was not serious about peace. Kyiv's European allies are now pressing US President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia.

The head of the Russian delegation at the talks expressed satisfaction with the meeting, and said Moscow was willing to keep talking to Kyiv.

The US draft peace proposal from April was prepared after Trump envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Moscow for rounds of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv and European allies drafted an alternative proposal, which stated there should be a ceasefire first so negotiations could start, and deferred any discussion of territory until later.​

 

[Saif]

Russia launches war’s largest drone attack after peace talks, Ukraine says

The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and injured at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday, as Moscow stepped up strikes following peace talks on Friday. Russia launched 273 drones by 8 a.m. local time (

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Russia launches war’s largest drone attack after peace talks, Ukraine says
REUTERS
Published :
May 18, 2025 20:07
Updated :
May 18, 2025 20:07

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and injured at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday, as Moscow stepped up strikes following peace talks on Friday.

Russia launched 273 drones by 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT), targeting chiefly the central Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east, Ukraine’s air force said.

Based on data provided by the air force, this was Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 23, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones.

The first direct talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine on Friday failed to broker the temporary ceasefire Kyiv and its allies have been urging. The 100 minutes of talks in Istanbul yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday.

The sustained overnight Russian drone attack on Sunday killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and injured at least three people, including a 4-year-old child, Ukrainian authorities said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack in the Obukhiv district, a woman died from her injuries,” Mykola Kalashnik, governor of the Kyiv region, posted on Telegram.

Kyiv and the region around it as well as the eastern part of Ukraine were under raid warnings for nine straight hours overnight before they were called off at around 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT). Air defence units were engaged several times trying to repel attacks, the military said on Telegram.

“It’s been a tough night. The Russians have always used war and attacks to intimidate everyone in negotiations,” Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram about Sunday’s attack.

Air defence units destroyed 88 of the drones overnight. The attack also included 128 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything, Ukraine’s air force said in a statement on Telegram.

On Saturday, a Russian drone attack killed nine civilians after hitting a shuttle bus in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, Kyiv said. Zelenskiy called the attack “deliberate” and urged stronger sanctions on Moscow, which said it had attacked a military facility.

All of those injured in the Obukhiv district just south of Kyiv city were hospitalised, Kalashnik said. Several residential buildings were damaged in the area, he added.

In the city of Kyiv, fragments of a destroyed drone damaged the roof of a non-residential building, the city’s military administration said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, it added.

Reuters witnesses in and around Kyiv heard blasts that sounded like air defence units in operation. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, but thousands have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.​

 

[Saif]

Trump says will speak to Putin to end Ukraine 'bloodbath'

Kremlin had said that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement.

en.prothomalo.com

Trump says will speak to Putin to end Ukraine 'bloodbath'
AFPKYIV, Ukraine
Published: 18 May 2025, 08: 40

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin AFP

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the "bloodbath" in Ukraine, a day after the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years.

Trump, who has been pressing Russia to agree a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, said he would speak with him by phone on Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the state TASS news agency the call was "being prepared".

Earlier Saturday, the Kremlin had said that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement.

That came a day after direct talks between the two countries led to an agreement for another exchange of prisoners.

Early Saturday, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in Ukraine's eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five, local authorities said.

Zelensky, denouncing the attack and Russia's refusal so far to agree a ceasefire, repeated his call for fresh sanctions against Moscow.

"Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there," he insisted.

On Friday in Istanbul, the first direct Ukraine-Russia talks since the spring of 2022 -- shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion that February -- led to an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the "next step" would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Russia said it had taken note of the request.

"We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides," the Kremlin's spokesman said.

Trump denounces 'bloodbath'
Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow and Kyiv would "present their vision of a possible future ceasefire", without saying when.

The Kremlin said that first the POW swap had to be completed and both sides need to present their visions for a ceasefire before fixing the next round of talks.

"For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday" in Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, which meant "first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 swap".

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kirillo Budanov, told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week.

Posting on Truth Social Saturday, Trump said he would speak to Putin on Monday to discuss finding a way out of the "BLOODBATH".

Afterwards, he added, he would speak to Zelensky and NATO officials, expressing hope that a "ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end".

Both Moscow and Washington have already stressed the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and Trump.

Trump has argued that "nothing's going to happen" on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the latest prisoner exchange in a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

And in an interview with CBS, he said Lavrov had told him Moscow was preparing a document outlining its requirements for a ceasefire.

If Russia and Moscow can both provide "serious and viable" proposals "then there's been real progress, and we can work off of that," Rubio said.

Fighting goes on

The attack on the bus happened near the city of Bilopillya, local community head Yuri Zarko told Suspilne TV. A family of three were among the dead, the authorities said.

Elsewhere on the frontlines, the Russian army said its troops captured Oleksandropil village in the eastern Donetsk region, site of some of the most intense fighting.

As well as Sumy, Russia also pounded eastern Ukraine with missiles and drones, killing six and wounding more than a dozen, officials said. In Kherson, Russian shelling hit a truck carrying humanitarian aid Saturday morning.

Zelensky accused Putin of being "afraid" after he declined to Travel to Turkey for talks and argued that Russia was not taking the talks seriously.

"Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation with no significant powers. This must change. We need real steps to end the war," Zelensky said Saturday.

On Friday, Zelensky had called for a "strong reaction" from the world, including new sanctions, if the Istanbul talks failed.

Macron said European nations were coordinating with Washington on additional sanctions should Moscow continue to refuse an "unconditional ceasefire."

On Saturday, Zelensky said he had spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about fresh and effective sanctions against Russia.

During the Istanbul talks, the Ukrainian side said Russia had made "unacceptable" territorial demands.

Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions -- four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.​

 

[Saif]

Trump speaks to Putin amid 'impasse' on ending war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday about peace in Ukraine after Washington said there was an impasse over ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two and that the United States may have to walk away. President Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump speaks to Putin amid 'impasse' on ending war in Ukraine
REUTERS
Published :
May 19, 2025 21:56
Updated :
May 19, 2025 21:56

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

US President Donald Trump spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday about peace in Ukraine after Washington said there was an impasse over ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two and that the United States may have to walk away.

President Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly called for an end to the "bloodbath" of Ukraine, which his administration casts as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.

Under pressure from Trump, delegates from the warring countries met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, after Putin proposed direct talks and Europeans and Ukraine demanded an immediate ceasefire.

A White House official said the call was underway. Putin was speaking from Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi while Trump was in Washington.

Shortly before the call, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Washington recognised there was an impasse in ending the war - and that if Moscow was not willing to engage then eventually the United States would have to say it was not its war.

"We realize there's a bit of an impasse here. And I think the president's going to say to President Putin: 'Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'" Vance said as he prepared to depart from Italy.

"I think honestly that President Putin, he doesn't quite know how to get out of the war," Vance said, adding that he had just spoken to Trump.

He said it "takes two to tango. I know the President's willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we're eventually just going to say, this is not our war."

"We're going to try to end it, but if we can't end it, we're eventually going to say: 'You know what? That was worth a try, but we're not doing anymore.'"

PEACE OR WAR

Trump, whose administration has made clear that Russia could face additional sanctions if it does not take peace talks seriously, said he would also speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and various members of NATO.

Putin, whose forces control a fifth of Ukraine and are advancing, has stood firm on his conditions for ending the war, despite public and private pressure from Trump and repeated warnings from European powers.

On Sunday, Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war.

Ukraine's intelligence service said it also believed Moscow intended to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile on Sunday, though there was no confirmation from Russia that it had done so.

In June 2024, Putin said Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entire territory of the four Ukrainian regions Russia claims.

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with leaders of the United States, Italy, France and Germany, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

"Tomorrow (Monday) President Putin must show he wants peace by accepting the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by President Trump and backed by Ukraine and Europe," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X after Sunday's call.

Putin is wary of a ceasefire and says fighting cannot be paused until a number of crucial conditions are worked out or clarified.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky accuses Russia of buying time to stall peace talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Tuesday of delaying peace talks in a bid to pursue its three-year invasion, even as US president Donald Trump pushes for an immediate ceasefire...

www.newagebd.net

Zelensky accuses Russia of buying time to stall peace talks
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 21 May, 2025, 00:08

Volodymyr Zelensky | AFP file photo

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Tuesday of delaying peace talks in a bid to pursue its three-year invasion, even as US president Donald Trump pushes for an immediate ceasefire.

Trump spoke by phone on Monday to both Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct talks on the conflict in more than three years.

The talks failed to yield a truce, and Zelensky accused Putin of sending ‘empty heads’ to the negotiating table.

‘It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation,’ Zelensky said in a post on social media.

Trump framed his two-hour conversation with Putin, the third so far this year, as a breakthrough.

The Republican is seeking an elusive deal to end the war that he had promised on the election campaign trail to solve in 24 hours.

But Putin again rebuffed the call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, instead saying only that he was ready to work with Ukraine on a ‘memorandum’ outlining a possible roadmap and different positions on ending the war.

Moscow is feeling confident, with its troops advancing on the battlefield and Trump having resumed dialogue with Putin after almost three years of the West shunning the Kremlin chief.

‘The memorandum buys time for Russia,’ Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said.

‘The cessation of hostilities is not a condition for it, which means that Russia can continue its offensive,’ he added.

Zelensky said on Monday he had no details of what this ‘memorandum’ would be but was willing to look at Russia’s ideas.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since destroyed swathes of the country’s east, killed tens of thousands and now controls around one-fifth of its territory.

People who spoke to AFP both in Kyiv and Moscow were sceptical about peace prospects and thought the Putin-Trump call had not bring them closer.

‘I never had any faith in him and now I have none at all,’ a retired teacher Victoria Kyseliova said in Kyiv, when asked if she was losing confidence in Trump.

Vitaliy, a 53-year-old engineer from Kyiv, said Trump was no ‘messiah’ and that his flurry of diplomacy has changed little.

Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said Trump’s latest calls had only added to the uncertainty.

‘This conversation not only failed to clarify the future of the negotiations but further confused the situation,’ he said.

He said Trump had fallen for Putin’s tactics of trying to use talks ‘as a cover to continue and intensify the war’.

In Moscow, there was defiance and confidence.

‘I believe that we don’t need these negotiations. We will win anyway,’ Marina, a 70-year-old former engineer, said.

Ukraine and Europe are trying to put pressure on Trump to impose on Moscow a new package of massive sanctions after Putin declined to travel to Turkey for face-to-face talks with Zelensky.

Kyiv accused Moscow’s negotiators of making unrealistic demands at the Istanbul talks, including sweeping territorial claims that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.

Zelensky said on Monday that Kyiv and its allies needed to ‘work hard’ to convince Trump of the need for more sanctions.

On Tuesday, the European Union formally adopted its 17th round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting 200 vessels of Russia’s so-called shadow maritime fleet, and drawing fire from Russia.

‘Western politicians and the media are making titanic efforts to disrupt the constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States,’ said Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and lead economic negotiator with the United States.

Russia has successfully withstood sanctions, rerouting its vital oil and gas supplies to India and China.

Zelensky said he had discussed preparations for the next sanctions package with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

‘Russian oil, energy trade infrastructure, banks and financial schemes — these are the areas that hurt Russia the most and therefore contribute the most to peace,’ he said.

The Ukrainian president added he was closely coordinating every step with the European partners following yesterday’s conversation with Trump.

Russia’s key ally China said on Tuesday it also backed direct dialogue between the warring sides.

‘It is hoped that the parties concerned will carry on with the dialogue to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU as US wavers

Ukraine will ask the EU next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, as US President Donald Trump has backed off from tightening sanctions. A previously unreported Ukrainian white paper to be prese

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU as US wavers
REUTERS
Published :
May 21, 2025 16:40
Updated :
May 21, 2025 17:06
​

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France's President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speak with US President Donald Trump via phone during the European Political Community Summit inTirana, Albania May 16, 2025. Photo : Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/Files

Ukraine will ask the EU next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, as US President Donald Trump has backed off from tightening sanctions.

A previously unreported Ukrainian white paper to be presented to the EU calls for the 27-member bloc to take a more aggressive and independent position on sanctions as uncertainty hangs over Washington's future role.

Among 40 pages of recommendations were calls to adopt legislation that would speed up the EU's seizure of assets from sanctioned individuals, and send them to Ukraine. Those under sanctions could then seek compensation from Russia.

The EU should consider a range of steps to make its sanctions apply more forcefully beyond its own territory, including targeting foreign companies that use its technology to help Russia, and "the introduction of secondary sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil".

Such secondary sanctions, which could hit big buyers such as India and China, would be a major step that Europe has so far been reluctant to take. Trump had publicly discussed this before taking the decision not to act for now.

The white paper also calls for the EU to consider using more majority-rules decision making over sanctions, to prevent individual member states from blocking measures that otherwise require unanimity.

After speaking to Putin on Monday, Trump opted not to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, dashing hopes of European leaders and Kyiv who had been lobbying him for weeks to ratchet up pressure on Moscow.

Trump spoke to Ukrainian and European leaders after his call with Putin and told them he didn't want to impose sanctions now and to give time for talks to take place, a person familiar with conversation told Reuters.

The EU and Britain imposed additional sanctions against Russia on Tuesday anyway, saying they still hope Washington will join them. But Europeans are openly discussing ways they can maintain pressure on Moscow if Washington is no longer prepared to participate.

Britain suffered a bigger than expected inflation surge in April.

'CATALYSE THE EU'

Publicly, Ukraine has tried to avoid any hint of criticism of Washington since President Volodymyr Zelenskiy received a dressing down from Trump in the White House in February.

The sanctions white paper emphasises the "unprecedented" sanctions imposed by the EU so far and talks up their potential to do more. It also includes a stark assessment of the Trump administration's commitment to coordination efforts so far.

"Today, in practice, Washington has ceased participation in nearly all intergovernmental platforms focused on sanctions and export control," it said.

Washington had slowed work in the monitoring group for enforcing price caps on Russian oil, dissolved a federal taskforce focused on prosecuting sanctions violations and reassigned a significant number of sanctions experts to other sectors, it added.

It noted that two potentially major US sanctions packages had been drawn up - one by the government and another by pro-Trump senator Lindsey Graham - but that it was "uncertain" whether Trump would sign off on either of them.

Uncertainty over the US stance had slowed the pace of economic countermeasures and multilateral coordination, but "should not prompt the European Union to ease sanctions pressure", it said.

"On the contrary, it should catalyse the EU to assume a leading role in this domain."

'HUGE STRIKE'

Ukraine is worried that Washington peeling away from the Western consensus on sanctions could also cause vacillation in the EU, which traditionally requires consensus for major decisions.

"American withdrawal from the sanctions regime (would) be a huge strike on the unity of the EU. Huge," a senior Ukrainian government official told Reuters.

The EU cannot fully replace the heft of the United States in applying economic pressure on Russia. Much of the impact of US sanctions comes from the dominance of the dollar in global trade, which the euro cannot match.

Still, US sanctions relief for Russia would not spur a significant return of foreign investors and investment if Europe held firm, said Craig Kennedy, a Russian energy expert at the Davis Center, Harvard.

"Europe holds a lot more cards than you'd think," he said.​

 

[Saif]

Russia downs 105 Ukrainian drones, fires Iskander missile

Russia said yesterday it had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including dozens heading towards Moscow, as the war in Ukraine heats up even as major powers talk about ways to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

www.thedailystar.net

Russia downs 105 Ukrainian drones, fires Iskander missile
Flights at Moscow airports briefly halted

Russia said yesterday it had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including dozens heading towards Moscow, as the war in Ukraine heats up even as major powers talk about ways to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

US President Donald Trump is pressuring Russia and Ukraine to end the more than three-year war but the two sides remain far apart. But while leaders talk of the prospects for peace, the war is intensifying: swarms of drones are being launched by both sides while fierce fighting is underway along key parts of the front.

Russia's defence ministry said 105 drones had been shot down over Russian regions between midnight and the early morning yesterday, including 35 over the Moscow region. The previous day, Russia said it shot down well over 300 Ukrainian drones.

Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, said multiple drones had been shot down heading towards the capital, which along with the surrounding region has a population of 21 million people. Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports briefly halted flights.

Separately, Russia said yesterday it had fired an Iskander-M missile at part of the city of Pokrov, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, destroying two Patriot missile launchers and an AN/MPQ-65 radar set.

Ukraine's air force reported damage in the Dnipropetrovsk region after an attack but did not specify the type of weapon.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces were advancing at key points along the front, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had pierced Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that the heaviest frontline battles were around Pokrovsk.​

 

[Saif]

Major Russia-Ukraine prisoner-of-war exchange under way

Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner swap on Friday expected to be the biggest of the war, as agreed last week at their first direct talks in more than three years, a Ukrainian military source said. Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv regio

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Major Russia-Ukraine prisoner-of-war exchange under way
REUTERS
Published :
May 23, 2025 19:20
Updated :
May 23, 2025 19:33

Residents are seen at a street near buildings damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine May 21, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner swap on Friday expected to be the biggest of the war, as agreed last week at their first direct talks in more than three years, a Ukrainian military source said.

Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv region in anticipation that some freed prisoners could be brought there. The Ukrainian military source said the swap was still under way.

By mid-afternoon Moscow time, Russian state media had not yet reported the exchange was under way, and the Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia and Ukraine each agreed after two hours of talks in Istanbul last week to swap 1,000 prisoners, but failed to agree to a ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump. Previous prisoner swaps have been mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

The prisoner swap was the only concrete step towards peace the two sides agreed at their talks in Istanbul.

“Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump had said the swap was already complete.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe’s deadliest war since World War Two, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine says it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately, but Russia, which launched the war by invading its neighbour in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until conditions are met first. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions “non-starters”.

Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine towards accepting some of Russia’s account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Russia if Moscow blocked a peace deal. But after speaking to Putin on Monday he decided to take no action for now.

Moscow says it is ready for peace talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war’s “root causes”, including its demands Ukraine cede more territory, and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.​