Latest news with #Киев
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mass Ukrainian drone strike targets Moscow, Russia claims, multiple airports closed
Russian air defense systems shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight on May 22, including 35 intercepted over Moscow Oblast, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that all the drones were flying toward the Russian capital. Due to the drone attack, all four Moscow airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky — as well as airports in Tambov and Vladimir were temporarily closed. Other Ukrainian drones were also shot down over the Oryol, Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Kaluga, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Smolensk and Bryansk oblasts, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Tula Oblast Governor Dmitry Milyaev said one of the drones crashed into the roof of an apartment building in Tula. The attack also damaged other residential and non-residential buildings, he said. Russian authorities haven't reported any other damage or reported any casualties. Kyiv hasn't commented on the attack. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the reports. Ukraine regularly launches drone attacks against Russian military and industrial facilities in the rear to undermine Russia's ability to wage its all-out war. Moscow and surrounding regions have faced a growing number of Ukrainian drone incursions in recent weeks. A day before on May 21, Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Bolkhov semiconductor plant in Oryol Oblast, which produces parts for Sukhoi warplanes and Iskander and Kinzhal missiles, Ukraine's General Staff claimed. Read also: 47th Brigade battalion commander's resignation puts Ukraine's military leadership under new scrutiny We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
LBCI
19-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Putin says Russia ready to 'work' with Kyiv on 'memorandum' for possible peace deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday after speaking with Donald Trump that Moscow will propose a "memorandum" that it will be willing to work with Kyiv on outlining positions for a possible peace agreement. "Russia will propose and will be ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement defining a range of positions," Putin told Russian media after a call with Trump. He added that the document could outline "the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement and so on -- including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time if appropriate agreements are reached." AFP
Al Jazeera
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia, Ukraine agree prisoner swap as talks end in less than two hours
Russian and Ukrainian officials met for less than two hours in Turkiye for their first direct talks in more than three years, aimed at ending the war. The delegations met on Friday at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace in Turkiye, where the two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire despite pressure from United States President Donald Trump to end the war. But before they adjourned, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap since the war began. Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow's delegation, confirmed that both sides agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals and a meeting between their heads of state. A Ukrainian source told the Reuters news agency, on condition of anonymity, that Russia's ultimatums to end the war included a demand for Kyiv to withdraw from parts of its territory to obtain a ceasefire, 'and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions'. Russia's demands were 'detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed', the source said. Medinsky said Moscow was satisfied with the Istanbul talks' results and was ready to continue talking to Kyiv. At the palace, the two delegations sat in front of each other, the Russian officials dressed in suits and half the Ukrainians wearing camouflage military uniforms. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the meeting, told the delegations there were 'two paths' ahead of them. 'One road will take us on a process that will lead to peace, while the other will lead to more destruction and death. The sides will decide on their own, with their own will, which path they choose,' Fidan said. Russia has said it sees the talks as a continuation of the negotiations that took place in the early weeks of the war in 2022, which included demands on Ukraine to cut the size of its military. Reporting from Istanbul, Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith said the prisoner exchange, one of the largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, comes as both sides are 'under pressure' from Trump to end the war. 'This could be a way of indicating that there is something worth talking about at these talks,' Smith said. 'We know already though, both sides have very different views on how [a deal] should come about – the Ukrainians want an immediate 30-day ceasefire. The Russians want longer-term talks about Ukraine's status as a neutral country.' As the talks were under way, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's top priority was 'a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire… to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy'. Zelenskyy, who was attending a European summit in Albania, said if Russia refused, new sanctions against its energy sector and banks should be imposed. While Russia has previously said it wants to end the war diplomatically and is ready to discuss a ceasefire, the prospects for a breakthrough in Istanbul were dim after Russia said President Vladimir Putin would not attend. Expectations lowered further after Trump said there would be no movement towards a ceasefire without a meeting between himself and Putin.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Putin proposes direct talks with Ukraine to agree ‘long-term, lasting peace'
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15th in Turkey that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace, an initiative welcomed by US president Donald Trump . Mr Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has left hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Russian leader, who has offered few concessions towards ending the conflict so far, said the talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul will be aimed at eliminating the root causes of the war and restoring a 'long-term, lasting peace' rather than simply a pause for rearmament. 'We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,' Mr Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. 'We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations on Thursday, in Istanbul.' Mr Putin said that he would speak to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Sunday about facilitating the talks, which he said could lead to a ceasefire. READ MORE 'Our proposal, as they say, is on the table. The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.' President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office and Ukraine's ministry for foreign affairs did not immediately respond to request for comment on the proposal. In a message on the social network Truth Social, Mr Trump hailed Mr Putin's proposal as a positive for ending the war. 'A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!' Mr Trump said. 'Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end.' Mr Putin's proposal for direct talks with Ukraine came hours after major European powers demanded on Saturday in Kyiv that Mr Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face 'massive' new sanctions. British prime minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine where they held a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing'. Picture date: Saturday May 10, 2025. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Mr Putin dismissed what he said was the attempt by some European powers to lay down 'ultimatums'. Russia, Mr Putin said, had proposed several ceasefires, including a moratorium on striking energy facilities, an Easter ceasefire and most recently the 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since victory in the second World War. Both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the temporary truce proposals, including the May 8th-10th ceasefire. Despite Mr Putin's call for peace talks, Russia on Sunday launched a drone attack on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, injuring one person in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital and damaging several private homes, Ukrainian officials said. Mr Putin said that he does not rule out that during his proposed talks in Turkey both sides will agree on 'some new truces, a new ceasefire,' but one that would be the first step towards a 'sustainable' peace. Mr Putin, whose forces have advanced over the past year, has stood firm in his conditions for ending the war despite public and private pressure from Mr Trump and repeated warnings from European powers. In June 2024, he said that Ukraine must officially drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia. Russian officials have also proposed that the US recognise Russia's control over about one-fifth of Ukraine and demanded that Ukraine remains neutral though Moscow has said it is not opposed to Kyiv's ambitions to join the European Union. Mr Putin specifically mentioned the 2022 draft deal which Russia and Ukraine negotiated shortly after the Russian invasion started. Under that draft, a copy of which Reuters has seen, Ukraine should agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the UK, China, France, Russia and the United States. 'It was not Russia that broke off negotiations in 2022. It was Kyiv,' Mr Putin said. 'Russia is ready to negotiate without any preconditions.' He thanked China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries and the US for their efforts to mediate. [ A Ukrainian commander writes: It may be extortionate, but I'd rather share our resources with US than Russia Opens in new window ] Mr Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the 'bloodbath' of the Ukraine war which his administration casts as a proxy war between the US and Russia. 'I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens,' Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post on Sunday. 'The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!' Former US president Joe Biden , western European leaders and Ukraine cast the invasion as an imperial-style land grab and repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces. Mr Putin casts the war as a watershed moment in Moscow's relations with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Soviet Union fell in 1991 by enlarging Nato and encroaching on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine. – Reuters
Russia Today
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Putin's Victory Day ceasefire proposal still on the table
Russian President Vladimir Putin's 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire proposal is still valid and Moscow's forces have been given orders to halt military activity, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. At the same time, he warned that if Ukraine chooses not to honor the truce and attempts to strike Russian military positions, an 'adequate response will be given immediately.' Putin announced the unilateral ceasefire last week, stating that Russian troops would suspend all offensive operations from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11. According to the Kremlin, the three-day pause has been proposed as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and could serve as a chance for 'the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.' Peskov has stated that the truce is also intended to test if Ukraine really wants to settle the conflict and to offer it a chance to demonstrate its commitment to deescalation. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, however, has rejected the offer, dismissing it as a Russian ploy and an 'attempt at manipulation.' In a statement following Putin's announcement, he instead called for an immediate unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which Moscow has claimed is an attempt to buy time for retreating Ukrainian forces. Zelensky has also claimed that Putin's ceasefire proposal is intended to ensure calm during Russia's Victory Day parade on May 9, and suggested that Kiev could not guarantee the safety of foreign leaders planning to attend the celebrations. Ukrainian MP Yury Pavlenko has also proposed attacking Moscow's Red Square during the parade. Moscow has condemned Zelensky's remarks. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova interpreted them as a 'direct threat' and proof of Kiev's terrorist nature.
