Nine people were killed when a Russian drone struck a passenger bus in north-eastern Ukraine, just hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first face-to-face peace talks since the war began.
Medics, emergency services, and police rushed to the scene of the strike in Bilopillia town in Ukraine’s Sumy region on Saturday morning, according to the head of the regional military administration.
The deadly attack came just hours after Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, following brief peace talks in Turkey that lasted less than two hours.
Kyiv was far less positive about the talks, accusing Moscow of making “unacceptable demands” which were “detached from reality”.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he has spoken to Donald Trump over the phone after the talks as he began rallying its allies for tougher action on Russia.
Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Zelensky agreed the Russian position in peace talks was "unacceptable", the British prime minister said, adding that they had spoken with Mr Trump.
Just as the talks were scheduled to begin, Kyiv accused Russia of “undermining” peace talks in Istanbul by demanding last-minute that Turkish and US representatives not be involved.
The Ukrainian delegation said the next step should be a direct meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky.
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Key Points
- Nine killed in Russian attack on Ukrainian civilian bus
- Zelensky and European leaders phone Trump after Turkey talks
- Russia and Ukraine agree to swap 1,000 prisoners each, Moscow says
- Russia and Ukraine sit down for first peace talks in three years
- Trump says he will meet Putin as soon as possible
- Recap: What happened on Friday, a turbulent day for peace in Ukraine?
David Lammy says 'Putin enough is enough'
09:11
,
Shweta Sharma
British foreign minister Lammy accused Moscow of obfuscating after talks between Ukraine and Russia on a possible ceasefire ended in less than two hours.
"Yet again we are seeing obfuscation on the Russian side and unwillingness to get serious about the enduring peace that is now required in Ukraine," Mr Lammy said. "Once again Russia is not serious."
"At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?" he said
It came as Donald Trump said "nothing could happen" until he had met directly with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
What happened at the Russia-Ukraine meeting in Turkey?
09:00
,
Shweta Sharma
At the meeting convened by Turkey, the negotiating teams sat opposite one another at a U-shaped table, with the Russians dressed in suits while half of the Ukrainians wore military fatigues.
The atmosphere was calm, a Turkish official said. No concrete timetable or location was agreed for the next talks, the official said, with both sides needing to debrief their leaders first.
The Ukrainians spoke in their own language through an interpreter, a Ukrainian source said, although Russian is widely spoken in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian and a European source said Russia rejected a Ukrainian request for US representatives to be in the room.
Two sources familiar with the talks said Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's peace delegation said Russia was ready to keep fighting for as long as necessary, drawing a parallel with the wars of Tsar Peter the Great against Sweden, which lasted 21 years in the early 1700s.
"We do not want war, but we are ready to fight for a year, two, three as long as you want," one of the sources quoted him as saying.
Recap: Everything that has happened so far
08:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Here is the recap of events since Friday if you are just joining us.
• Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022 in Istanbul, at the Dolmabahce Palace. The meeting lasted just under two hours; neither Vladimir Putin nor Volodymyr Zelensky attended
• No major breakthrough was achieved, with expectations already low ahead of the talks. The only tangible outcome was an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each – the largest swap of the war
• Ukraine pushed for a 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow rejected the proposal and stuck to its maximalist demands
• Ukraine said Russia signalled willingness to continue talks and acknowledged Ukraine's request for a Zelensky and Putin meeting
• Zelenskyy reiterated his call for an immediate, full, and honest ceasefire to stop the bloodshed. He also urged further sanctions on Moscow if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire
• Hours after the talks in Turkey, a Russian drone strike killed nine people in Ukraine’s Sumy after a bus came under attack. Russia said it was targeting targeted a Ukrainian military equipment staging area in the Sumy region
Russia and Ukraine agree to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war – but fail to secure peace in Turkey talks
08:00
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each in their first talks for more than three years. But the two sides fell short of negotiating a ceasefire as Kyiv said Moscow had presented conditions that were “non-starters”.
Under pressure from US president Donald Trump to end the conflict, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour.
The negotiations, held in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace and mediated by a Turkish team, took place after a turbulent two days cast doubt over whether the meeting would take place at all.
The talks lasted under two hours and there was no immediate announcement on whether or when the sides might meet again, although Russia expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said it was ready to continue contacts.
Ukraine said its next goal is for Vladimir Putin to meet directly with Volodymyr Zelensky; Russia said it had "taken note" of the request.
'A cynical war crime', Ukraine's police say after Russian bus strike
07:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Ukraine’s National Police called the bus strike in Sumy a “cynical war crime” after nine people were killed in a drone strike on a bus.
"This is not just another shelling, it is a cynical war crime," Ukraine's National Police said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Ihor Tkachenko, head of Sumy's military administration, said on Telegram that a rescue operation was under way.
A Russian drone hit a bus, killing nine people and injuring four more in the region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, in an attack that took place hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct peace talks in years.
Ukraine's police posted photos of a dark blue passenger van nearly destroyed, with the roof torn off and the windows blown out.
Pope meets with head of Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, who invites him to Kyiv
07:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russia says it targeted Ukrainian military equipment in Sumy
06:43
,
Shweta Sharma
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed it had targeted a Ukrainian military equipment staging area in the Sumy region, according to state news agency Tass.
It came shortly after Ukrainian officials said nine people were killed after a drone strike hit a bus, killing nine passengers.
The attack happened after a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first direct dialogue between the two sides since the early months of the war that Russia launched in February 2022.
Visuals show remains of the mangled passenger bus after Russian strike
06:26
The pictures have emerged of the passenger bus that was hit by a drone strike in Ukraine’s Sumy, killing nine people.
The blue passenger bus was badly damaged, with its roof partially blown off and the right side completely destroyed.
ICYMI | Zelensky-Putin meeting should be next step, says Ukrainian defence minister
06:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has said Kyiv believes the next step after Friday's talks about the war with a Russian delegation should be a meeting of the nation's two leaders.
Umerov told reporters that the first priority in the talks on Friday in Istanbul was to secure the release of prisoners of war, and the second, to secure a ceasefire, adding that the next step should be leader-level talks.
Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said he hoped the nations' two leaders would meet "sooner rather than later".
Putin's investment envoys hails peace talks
05:55
,
Shweta Sharma
The first direct Russia-Ukraine dialogue in three years has produced good results, Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, said late on Friday.
"1. Largest POW exchange 2. Ceasefire options that may work 3. Understanding of positions and continued dialogue," Dmitriev, the chief of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, said on social media platform X.
At least eight killed after Russian attack on Ukrainian civilian bus
05:32
,
Shweta Sharma
At least eight people have been killed and five injured after a Russian attack hit a bus with civilians in Ukraine's Sumy region, the head of the military administration of the region in Ukraine's northeast said on Saturday.
"Passengers have been injured," Ihor Tkachenko, head of Sumy's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Medics and rescuers have been urgently sent to the scene'".
The attack came hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years.
EU readying new sanctions to increase pressure on Russia, von der Leyen says
05:26
,
Shweta Sharma
The European Union is working on a new package of sanctions to increase pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said as leaders from across Europe met in Albania.
The European Political Community Summit, which includes non-EU countries, convened in the Albanian capital Tirana as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul for their first direct peace talks in more than three year.
"He does not want peace, so we have to increase the pressure, and this is why we are working on a new package of sanctions," Ms von der Leyen said, referring to Putin.
"This package will include for example sanctions on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It will include working on listing more vessels of the Russian shadow fleet and also lowering the oil price cap, and will include more sanctions on the financial sector in Russia."
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte had said earlier in the day that Putin had "made a mistake by sending a low-level delegation" to Istanbul.
Sir Keir Starmer says Russian 'position is clearly unacceptable' as he talks to Trump
05:09
,
Shweta Sharma
The British prime minister Keir Starmer said he and European allies spoke to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump on Friday to begin "closely aligning" a response to Russia's "unacceptable" position in Ukraine peace talks.
After the phone call, he told reporters in Tirana, Albania: "We just had a meeting with President Zelensky and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today.
"And the Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time.
"So as a result of that meeting with President Zelensky and that call with President Trump we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so."
Sir Keir said the prisoner swap was "obviously a good thing" but that "we need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire".
"And I'm very keen to continue to put that pressure on, because we need to make sure that Putin comes to the table, but his actions this week still show me that he's not serious yet about peace."
Watch | Trump says 'nothing will happen' in Ukraine peace talks until he meets Putin
05:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine calls on allies to keep pressure on Russia after talks yield no ceasefire
04:59
,
Shweta Sharma
Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters".
As soon as the talks ended, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland, his spokesperson said.
Mr Zelensky said robust sanctions should follow if Russia rejects a ceasefire.
Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory in order to obtain a ceasefire "and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions".
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that he and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas agreed that "pressure on Moscow must be strengthened to achieve a full and durable ceasefire".
Trump threatens to impose sanctions on Russia and Ukraine if peace talks fail
04:44
,
Shweta Sharma
US president Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if Kremlin will not negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
"Honestly, I will (impose sanctions), if we're not gonna make a deal," Mr Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview released on Friday.
"This is turkey time, we’re talking turkey, and we’ll see what happens. This would be crushing for Russia because they're having a hard time now with the economy, oil prices are low."
Mr Trump claimed that Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate.
“Putin is at the table,” Mr Trump said. “He wanted this meeting... I think Putin is tired of this whole thing. And he's not looking good, and he wants to look good.”
“I always felt there can't be a meeting without me because I don't think a deal's going to get through... There's a lot of hatred on both sides,” Mr Trump said, suggesting that he intends to meet Mr Putin soon.
“I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal. We have to get together, and I think we'll probably schedule it.”
Australia 'appalled' Russia's jailing of Melbourne man caught in Ukraine
04:31
,
Shweta Sharma
Australia's foreign minister on Saturday condemned a 13-year prison sentence handed by a Russian court to an Australian citizen for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
Oscar Jenkins, 33, will serve the sentence in a maximum security prison after being found guilty by a Russian court of participating in an armed conflict as a mercenary, state prosecutors in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia said on Friday.
Foreign minister Penny Wong said in a statement that Australia's government was "appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence" given to Mr Jenkins, previously a teacher in Melbourne.
"As a full serving member of the regular Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war," said Ms Wong, a long-time strident critic of Russia's war against Ukraine.
"The Australian Government has made clear to Russia that Mr Jenkins must be given the protections afforded to him as a prisoner of war. Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment," the foreign minister said.
She said Australia's government would work with Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross to push for Jenkins' welfare and release.
Mr Jenkins was serving with Ukraine's military when he was captured by Russia last year as a prisoner of war, Australian media reported earlier this year. A video taken at the time showed him, dressed in combat uniform, being asked if he was a mercenary, reports said.
Pope Leo to offer to host Russia and Ukraine talks at the Vatican
04:09
,
Shweta Sharma
The first American-born pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, will offer Russia and Ukraine to host their talks to broker a peace deal at the Vatican, a top Catholic official said.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, told reporters in Rome that the new pope is willing to offer the Vatican as a venue for direct talks between the two parties, if necessary.
“It is an offer of a location,” he said.
Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost before his election last week to succeed the late Pope Francis as head of the Catholic Church, called for peace in Ukraine during his first Sunday blessing.
Addressing world leaders, he echoed the enduring appeal, “never again war.”He also spoke by phone with president Volodymyr Zelensky last Sunday.
Analysis | Why Putin’s no-show at peace talks in Turkey is all part of his brutal pantomime
04:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russia threatened 'eternal war' in peace talks, sources say
03:53
,
Shweta Sharma
Russia threatened Ukraine with “eternal war” during their peace talks in Turkey, a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Sky News.
The person who was not named said Russians were reluctant to talk about the technical details of a ceasefire and awaited superiors’ approval.
Russia said on Friday that the first direct talks with Ukraine in more than three years had yielded a deal to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each soon and to resume talks after each side had set out its vision for a future ceasefire.
Previously, a Ukrainian source said Kyiv was not satisfied with the talks as Moscow made “unrealistic” demands.
Full report | Russia and Ukraine agree to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war – but fail to secure peace in Turkey talks
03:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Starmer speaks to Trump, Zelensky and European allies to ‘align’ response to Russia
01:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Prime Minister said he and European allies spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump on Friday to begin “closely aligning” a response to Russia’s “unacceptable” position in Ukraine peace talks.
Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Zelensky and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland held a phone call with the US president to discuss “developments” in the negotiations on Friday, he said.
The talks in Istanbul lasted less than two hours and the sides agreed to the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war in 2022.
Sir Keir said the prisoner swap was “obviously a good thing” but that “we need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire”.
After the phone call, he told reporters in Tirana, Albania: “We just had a meeting with President Zelensky and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today.
“And the Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time.
“So as a result of that meeting with President Zelensky and that call with President Trump we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so.”
Mapped: Frontline in Ukraine as Kyiv and Moscow set to begin first direct talks since 2022
Friday 16 May 2025 23:59
,
Jabed Ahmed
New head of Russian land forces distinguished himself in Ukraine
Friday 16 May 2025 23:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
A colonel general dubbed "General Breakthrough" for distinguishing himself in key battles in Moscow's more than three-year-old war in Ukraine has been appointed head of Russia's land forces, the daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta said.
The government daily said Andrei Mordvichev was born in 1976 in what was then Soviet Kazakhstan and last year was decorated as a Hero of Russia, the country's highest award.
Mordvichev, previously head of the Central Military District, commanded operations that led to the 2022 surrender of Ukrainian units holding out in the Azovstal steelworks after a siege of about 80 days in the southern port of Mariupol.
In 2024, he led Russian troops capturing the mining centre of Avdiivka in Donetsk region on the war's eastern front, a key operation in a town where Ukrainian authorities had for years built up fortifications.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta said he also led Russian forces in retaking three key towns in their slow advance westward through Donetsk region - Selydove, Kurakhove and Ukrainsk.
Earlier in his career, he had also taken part in conflicts in Syria.
Mordvichev takes over from army general Oleg Salyukov, replaced as head of ground forces on Thursday by a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.
Salyukov, 69, was appointed deputy secretary of the Security Council, the Kremlin's top consultative body, chaired by Putin, and which is responsible for managing and integrating national security policy.
'Non-starter' Ukraine talks renew call for US sanctions bill
Friday 16 May 2025 22:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
US senator have renewed calls for Congress to pass sanctions on Russia after Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks showed little progress, but no votes were scheduled on bills introduced six weeks ago aimed at pressuring Moscow to negotiate seriously.
Kyiv and Moscow's first direct talks in more than three years on Friday ended in well under two hours, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters."
Russian President Vladimir "Putin will continue stonewalling and slow-walking ceasefire efforts till his economy is hit hard -- isolating it on a financial island," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a statement urging a vote on sanctions legislation.
Blumenthal and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill on 1 April that is intended to make it more difficult for Russia to fund its war by adding provisions like a 500% tariff on imports to the U.S. from countries that buy Russian energy.
The Senate bill now has at least 73 co-sponsors in the 100-member chamber, although leaders have not indicated when it might be brought up for a vote. A similar measure introduced the same day in the House of Representatives has 28 co-sponsors, also from both parties.
Graham, who was in Turkey for a Nato foreign ministers meeting this week, called for the bill's passage, criticizing Putin's decision not to attend the talks with Ukraine.
"When it comes to Russia’s games, enough is enough," Graham said in a statement.
Recap: What happened on Friday, a turbulent day for peace in Ukraine?
Friday 16 May 2025 21:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Testy start to the day in Istanbul…
- Early this morning, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, the US and Turkey held talks in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace, discussions which were supposed to immediately precede Ukraine-Russia-Turkey talks.
- Ukraine accused them of ‘undermining’ the talks by demanding that US and Turkish representatives do not partake on Friday. Meanwhile the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, held an unexpected meeting with a US government official.
- The talks begin around one hour late. It wasn’t long before a Ukrainian source said Russia is making demands which are “detached from reality”, and a senior official said Moscow made “unacceptable demands” that had not previously been raised.
- Mr Medinsky later says that Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each in the coming days.
750 kilometres west of the peace talks…
- Volodymyr Zelensky met dozens of EU leaders for a major summit in Tirana, Albania. He called for a “strong reaction” if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire.
- After the peace talks in Istanbul concluded, Mr Zelensky, along with the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Poland, held a phone call with Donald Trump.
- Sir Keir Starmer said that the group of European leaders agreed with Mr Zelensky that Russia’s position was “unacceptable”, and that this had been conveyed to the US president.
Elsewhere…
- Earlier in the day, Donald Trump had discussed the prospect of meeting Vladimir Putin, which he yesterday said was necessary for progress in Ukraine peace talks. They will be held “as soon as we can set it up”, he claimed.
- Other meetings were held in Istanbul. Ukrainian officials met senior US, French British and German aides, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio met the national security advisers of the UK, France and Germany.
- Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV has offered the Vatican for future peace talks, according to Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Starmer says allies must continue to heap pressure on Putin
Friday 16 May 2025 20:07
,
Jabed Ahmed
Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK and allies must continue to heap pressure on Vladimir Putin as his actions this week show he is “not serious” about peace in Ukraine.
“The prisoner swaps is obviously a good thing that’s been agreed today, and the fact that talks continue, but I think we need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire.
“And I’m very keen to continue to put that pressure on, because we need to make sure that Putin comes to the table, but his actions this week still show me that he’s not serious yet about peace.”
Watch | Trump says 'nothing will happen' in Ukraine peace talks until he meets Putin
Friday 16 May 2025 19:46
,
Jabed Ahmed
Former US ambassador to Ukraine says she resigned because of Trump's foreign policy
Friday 16 May 2025 19:19
,
Jabed Ahmed
The former US ambassador to Ukraine, who resigned from the role in April, has said that she quit the post because she disagreed with President Donald Trump's foreign policy.
Ambassador Bridget Brink, who served as ambassador to Ukraine from May 2022 until her departure last month, outlined the reasons for her departure for the first time in an op-ed published on Friday by the Detroit Free Press.
In the piece, Brink hit out at Trump for pressuring Ukraine rather than Russia.
"I respect the president’s right and responsibility to determine U.S. foreign policy ― with proper checks and balances by U.S. Congress," she said.
"Unfortunately, the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia," Brink said.
Brink, a long-serving career diplomat, said that she therefore felt it was her duty to step down.
"Peace at any price is not peace at all ― it is appeasement," she said.
Zelensky-Putin meeting should be next step, says Ukrainian defence minister
Friday 16 May 2025 18:59
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has said Kyiv believes the next step after Friday's talks about the war with a Russian delegation should be a meeting of the nation's two leaders.
Umerov told reporters that the first priority in the talks on Friday in Istanbul was to secure the release of prisoners of war, and the second, to secure a ceasefire, adding that the next step should be leader-level talks.
Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said he hoped the nations' two leaders would meet "sooner rather than later".
Macron says, after call with Trump, that Russia does not want peace
Friday 16 May 2025 18:39
,
Jabed Ahmed
Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to Donald Trump while in Albania for a meeting of top European leaders, and that Russia was not showing that it was ready for peace in Ukraine.
"We just had a phone call with @POTUS while in Albania. Once again, President Putin refuses to respond to the unconditional ceasefire proposal put forward by the Americans and supported by Ukraine and the Europeans," Macron wrote on X.
"By rejecting the ceasefire and dialogue with Ukraine, Russia shows it does not want peace and is merely trying to buy time by continuing the war," added Macron.
Full report| Russia and Ukraine agree to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war - but fail to secure peace in Turkey talks
Friday 16 May 2025 18:29
,
Jabed Ahmed
Read the full report on today’s events:
US will start discussions later this year on troop reduction in Europe, US NATO ambassador says
Friday 16 May 2025 18:19
,
Jabed Ahmed
The United States will begin discussions with European allies to reduce U.S. troops in Europe later this year, US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker said on Friday.
"It will be certainly after the (Hague Nato) summit, sometime later in the year, we are going to start those conversations", Whitaker said, addressing a conference in Estonia.
"Nothing has been determined but as soon as we do, we are going to have these conversations in the structure of Nato", he added.
Mapped: State of play on Ukrainian frontline as talks conclude
Friday 16 May 2025 18:10
,
Alex Croft
Pope Leo XIV offers Vatican as venue for Russia-Ukraine talks
Friday 16 May 2025 17:49
,
Alex Croft
Pope Leo XIV has proposed the Vatican as a venue for Russia-Ukrainian negotiations after talks in Istanbul failed to bear fruit, according to the Vatican’s secretary of state.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin described the outcome of the Turkey talks as “tragic”.
"It's all tragic because we hoped that a process would begin, perhaps slowly, but with a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Instead, we are back to square one," he said on the sidelines of an event dedicated to the Istanbul summit, Italian newspaper La Stampa.
"Now we will see what to do, but the situation is very difficult, dramatic," Card Parolin added.
If necessary, the Pope will “provide the Vatican, the Holy See, for a direct meeting between the two sides".
'They will not stop': Ukrainian troops share doubts over peace
Friday 16 May 2025 17:31
,
Alex Croft
Speaking to Reuters news agency before an exchange of artillery fire with Russian forces, 26-year-old Roman - who uses the call sign "Cowboy" - said he had little faith Moscow would agree to a demand from Kyiv and Western states for a 30-day ceasefire.
"At the moment peace is not possible," Roman said. "We are certain that the enemy is not going to stop. Our task, as soldiers, is to hold our positions, keep on fighting, not to give up."
The group of soldiers commanded by Roman - who did not give his full name in line with Ukrainian military protocol - was dug into woodland in Ukraine's Donetsk region, which is largely controlled by Russian forces.
One of Roman's men, Serhii, said when asked if he saw a prospect of a ceasefire: "No hope."
"Because there was a lot of conversation before. No results," said Serhii, a 36-year-old with the callsign Steward. "I just do my work. For our victory, to stop the war."
Watch: Trump says 'nothing will happen' in Ukraine peace talks until he meets Putin
Friday 16 May 2025 17:10
,
Alex Croft
Ukraine diplomat accuses Russia of making 'unacceptable demands'
Friday 16 May 2025 16:50
,
Alex Croft
A senior Ukrainian official has accused Russia of introducing “unacceptable demands” that had not been previously raised, following the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make official statements, said Russia made demands that had not been previously discussed, including calling for Ukraine to withdraw from large areas of Ukrainian-controlled territory.
The Ukrainian delegate said it seemed as if the Russian delegation "deliberately wants to throw nonstarters on the table in order to walk away from today's meeting without any results".
The meeting in Turkey is the first direct negotiation between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, and the Ukrainian official said Kyiv’s delegation was prepared to "achieve a lot today".
EU working on Russia sanctions package - Von der Leyen
Friday 16 May 2025 16:29
,
Alex Croft
The EU is working to issue a new sanctions package on Russia, commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.
However, diplomats say it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain unanimity regarding new sanctions packages. The EU has already adopted 17, the latest being this week.
Speaking about Vladimir Putin during the European Political Community summit in Albania, Ms von der Leyen said: "He does not want peace, so we have to increase the pressure, and this is why we are working on a new package of sanctions.
"This package will include for instance sanctions on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It will include working on listing more vessels of the Russian shadow fleet and also lowering the oil price cap, and also more sanctions on the financial sector in Russia."
Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, each consisting of two pipes, were built by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom to pump natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. They were ruptured by a series of blasts in 2022.
"Massive" sanctions European leaders have threatened over the past days would need US support to succeed, officials added.
In pictures: Zelensky joins European leaders for major summit
Friday 16 May 2025 16:10
,
Alex Croft
