Russian forces control the Novenke, Zhuravka, Veselivka, and Basivka communities, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said. "Residents of these villages were evacuated long ago, and there is no threat to civilians."
"There is no evidence that (the Russians) are seriously considering peace...On the contrary, there is a lot of evidence that they are preparing new offensive operations."
Key developments on May 26: * West no longer imposing range restrictions on arms for Ukraine, Germany's Merz says * Russia launches record 355 drones at Ukraine; 6 killed, 24 injured over past 24 hours * Russian drone production site, chemical plant targeted in alleged Ukrainian drone strike * Netherlands to send last of
"We should strangle them. I agree completely. I'm speaking without any shame, because they're trying to strangle us," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
As Russia continues to bombard cities and towns across Ukraine, Russian officials have hardened their position against a ceasefire, continuing to repeat the obscure demand that the war’s "root causes" be addressed before agreeing to any truce. For months, the phrase "root causes" has become a go-to talking point
As part of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange with Russia, Ukraine has recovered soldiers from 46 military units that had previously seen none of their members returned, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW) reported on May 26.
While some EU countries have restricted or halted visa issuance to Russian citizens, others have continued processing applications, keeping a legal pathway open for Russian travel to the bloc.
"Dmitriev is trying to show the U.S. that let's not focus on war and peace, let's look at the bigger picture," Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service Chief Oleh Ivashchenko said.
"I think President Trump realizes that when President Putin told him he was ready for peace, he lied to him," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The meeting comes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to promote European efforts to initiate further technical-level peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
"This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military facilities in Russia," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. "Until recently, it couldn’t do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn’t done so either."
Ukrainian investigators are working to identify Anatolii Taranenko and verify the accusations raised against him, said Andrii Yusov, deputy head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW).
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus was completed in October 2023.
The new control algorithm was revealed in a note hidden inside one of the Russian drones, possibly left behind by a "sympathetic Russian engineer," the Economist wrote.
European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the EU must be ready to defend Ukraine and itself with or without Washington's backing.
"If the sanctions are lifted, the rearmament process will proceed much faster," Ukrainian foreign intelligence (SZRU) chief Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview with Ukrinform.
Russia launched its third large-scale aerial and drone assault against Ukraine in three nights, killing at least six people and injuring 24 across multiple oblasts over the past 24 hours, regional authorities reported on May 26.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces had downed 148 Ukrainian drones since 10 a.m. local time on May 25 until 8 a.m. on May 26.
The number includes 1,000 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Since the last update in early May, the confirmed death toll of Russian soldiers has risen by at least 2,009 people.
"Ukraine continues to coordinate its sanction decisions with the sanction regimes of the European Union and other key global jurisdictions," Zelensky said.
NATO is expected to ask Berlin to at least quadruple its air defense systems, ranging from long-range platforms such as the Patriot to short-range interceptors, according to Reuters.
"I’ve always gotten along with him," Trump said of Putin to reporters at an airport in New Jersey on May 25. "But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all."
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not interested in peace, he wants to continue this war, and we must not allow this, which is why the European Union will agree on additional sanctions," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on May 25.
A rail line was damaged in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on May 25 after a cargo train ran over an explosive device planted underneath the tracks, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed.
"The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful," U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on X without explicitly naming Russia. "Stop the killing. Ceasefire now."
Key developments on May 24-25: * Ukraine brings home 303 POWs in final phase of biggest prisoner swap with Russia * Russian missile, drone attack kills 12, injures 79 * US silence 'encourages Putin', Zelensky says after massive Russian attack * Russia losing battlefield edge in war against Ukraine, WP reports * Russia will reveal
"We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president’s helicopter flight," Yury Dashkin, commander of an air defense division, said, as cited by the Russian news agency on May 25.
Beijing is supplying "special chemicals, gunpowder, and components" to 20 Russian military-industrial manufacturing facilities, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview partially released on May 25.
HUR released video of the strike on its official Telegram channel on May 25, showing a train engulfed in flames.
Several Ukrainian drones were downed by Russian air defenses on their approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed on May 25. Sobyanin's report comes following Russia's large-scale missile and drone attack on multiple cities of Ukraine, which killed 12 people and injured 60.
As Kyiv completed its largest prisoner exchange of the war on May 25, exchanging 1,000 Ukrainian POWs for 1,000 Russians, some spoke out on social media to criticize authorities for failing to return certain captives.
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