"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. ichael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power.”
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
A general view from the city center on Feb. 3, 2022, in Yerevan, Armenia. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Yerevan on Sept. 18 accused five Armenian citizens and two former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh of undergoing military training in Russia in order to stage an armed coup in Armenia.
Three suspects have been arrested, while four are still at large, the Armenian Investigative Committee said. The identity of the suspects was not revealed.
The suspects were offered a three-month military training on Russian territory for a monthly payment of 220,000 rubles ($2,400). The plans were carried out in cooperation "with other persons whose identity is yet to be determined," according to the statement.
The alleged plotters were to acquaint themselves with "new heavy weapons and learn the skills of their use" as part of their training, the committee said.
The suspects then recruited other persons – fellow Armenians and Nagorno-Karabakh former residents – to join the alleged plot and also undergo training in Russia, according to the statement.
This was meant to prepare the recruits to "return to Armenia and remove the current government," the committee added.
Some of the recruits allegedly refused to participate in the training and returned to Armenia, the committee said, adding that an intervention of Armenian law enforcement agencies thwarted the plot.
The committee did not specify any political or other affiliations of the alleged plotters, saying that the investigation is ongoing. The authorities are now seeking to identify the remaining accomplices.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashiynan's government previously accused the country's military of plotting a coup in 2021, months after the unsuccessful war with Azerbaijan in 2020.
The prime minister has taken an increasingly pro-Western foreign policy direction as the ties with Moscow, the country's traditional ally, soured when Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh did not prevent last year's Azerbaijani offensive.
Over 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh in a mass exodus after Azerbaijan seized the region in a lightning military offensive in September 2023.
The war sparked mass protests against Pashiynan. Yerevan has been backing the unrecognized republic since its conception in the early 1990s, despite Nagorno-Karabakh being internationally recognized as Azerbaijani sovereign territory.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Elsa Court
