During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with the leadership of military-industrial complex enterprises in Tula, Russia, on Dec. 23, 2022. (Photo by SPUTNIKAFP via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Dec. 25 that the Kremlin was “ready to negotiate with everyone involved” to reach what it views as “acceptable solutions” for its brutal war against Ukraine.
In an interview with Kremlin-controlled Rossiya 1 television, Putin again blamed Kyiv and its Western allies for blocking the negotiation process.
He reiterated that Russia would continue waging the war until its objectives were achieved. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities have has said that Ukraine would fight until a complete Russian withdrawal from its territory, including the Donbas and the Crimean peninsula.
EU and US leaders have signaled their readiness to negotiate if Russia is serious about wanting to end the war.
Nevertheless, Putin showed no signs of seeking an end to the war; he claimed in his Dec. 7 speech that Russia was ready for a long war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the following day that Russia was determined to capture areas in eastern and southern Ukraine that it illegally claims to have annexed in September. Putin’s Dec. 15 claim about negotiations comes amid Western officials’ warnings that Moscow may be trying to buy time to regroup its forces for a new major offensive.
Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote in an opinion article that “Russia hopes to freeze the war to allow its forces to regroup, rearm and try to launch a renewed offensive.”
Senior Ukrainian officials, including Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, have warned of a possible renewed Russian offensive from multiple fronts in early 2023, which could include another attempt to capture Kyiv.
While Putin has talked to some EU leaders in recent months, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, no direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks have taken place since April.
The peace talks in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion ended without a breakthrough. Promises made by Russia, including the implementation of humanitarian corridors for safe civilian evacuations, were broken by Russian troops.
Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.
