Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 05-12-2025

The latest ruling by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council was made in response to a 2022 court case by Australia and the Netherlands.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council has ruled Russia responsible for the downing of civilian flight MH17 in 2014. 

The ICAO is a UN agency that sets global rules and standards for flight safety and guidelines.

Kyiv Post visited Ukrainian troops near Pokrovsk, who laughed at the idea anyone believed Putin’s Victory Day “ceasefire” promise – the fighting never stopped, and medics never got a break.

NEAR POKROVSK, Ukraine – “What ceasefire? There is no ceasefire,” laughed Dmytro Filatov, commander of the First Separate Assault Regiment based in eastern Ukraine. 

Filatov said on Saturday he was aware of the supposed unilateral ceasefire called for May 8-10 by Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week in honor of Victory Day, but saw no signs it ever took place.

“I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday,” the US president said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump teased on Monday the possibility of attending peace talks on Thursday between Ukraine and Russia in person.  

Referencing the upcoming talks in Turkey during Monday’s White House Press Conference, Trump said he “was thinking about actually flying over there” to Turkey but said he “[doesn’t] know where [he’s] going to be on Thursday.”

According to Bohdan Nahaylo, Editor-in-Chief of the Kyiv Post, Putin’s only hope is Donald Trump’s inconsistency.

Putin has come under unexpected pressure from united Western leaders, and this is having a positive effect, but Putin is still trying to play for time.

According to Bohdan Nahaylo, Editor-in-Chief of the Kyiv Post, Putin’s only hope is Donald Trump’s inconsistency. The role of Turkey and its President Erdoğan, who has declared himself the host of the talks, but continues to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, may prove crucial here.

The cell’s operations are believed to be among the “largest and most complex” enemy operations ever uncovered on British soil.

A UK court Monday handed down jail terms of up to 10 years to six Bulgarians convicted for belonging to a Russian espionage cell described as like something from a “spy novel.”

Fake passports, hidden cameras, a spy love triangle and secret online chats about potential abductions and honeytraps were uncovered by investigators.

The agreement was ratified by Ukraine’s parliament last week and awaited the president’s signature to become law.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially signed the minerals deal with the US into law. 

Zelensky’s signature is the final step needed for it to take effect, following its ratification by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on Thursday, May 8.

UK Foreign Minister urged Putin to commit to peace as EU leaders demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine before talks, warning of sanctions if Russia refuses.

The UK’s foreign minister called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “get serious about peace” in Ukraine on Monday, as he hosted key London talks backing calls for a swift ceasefire.

Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the EU joined the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy for a meeting of the so-called “Weimar+” group.

The Kremlin spokesman brusquely dismissed Western demands to freeze the war in Ukraine as a precursor for peace talks as “unacceptable ultimatums.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the West’s demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, saying that the language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia. According to him, adopting such a tone is not appropriate when dealing with Moscow.

“This language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia. It doesn’t work. You can’t talk to Russia like that,” Peskov said at a press briefing on Monday.

Graphic chest-cam footage shows how the eight Russian troops were ambushed before all being wiped out during the close combat encounter.

Operators from a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) unit eliminated a Russian assault group during a mission deep behind enemy lines.

According to a report shared on Telegram, the SSO team was conducting special reconnaissance beyond the front line when they detected the movement of a squad of Russian stormtroopers.

Putin snubs Western ceasefire calls, proposing talks in Turkey as Zelensky signals readiness; both eye Trump’s favor while Europe reengages in diplomacy.

Russia’s President Putin has ignored calls for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine from France, Germany, the UK, Poland and the US and instead proposed direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. President Zelensky promptly replied from Kyiv that he was expecting to meet Putin in person in Turkey on Thursday. Europe’s press takes stock.

Gradual return to diplomacy

Stefan Korshak, Kyiv Post’s military correspondent, shares his perspective on recent developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In the past week the “peace talks” thankfully were shoved into the background as the White House – as had been widely predicted – ran out of ability to pay attention and now seems to be focusing on playing up tariff deals and arguing the court system can’t make rulings about laws that the executive branch should actually have to follow.

On the fighting front, the 3-day “ceasefire” announced by the Kremlin for the 80th anniversary (Russian style) of the end of WW2 turned out not to be a ceasefire at all. The shooting went on, engagements stayed at fairly intense levels, and both sides gained and lost ground marginally.

Uncertain May 15 peace talks in Istanbul, pushed by Putin and backed by Trump, risk becoming a public spectacle as Ukraine and Russia remain deeply divided.

A few points around the proposed May 15 Istanbul peace talks which some hope could bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

First, we don’t even know if they will happen.

Zelensky urged Putin to meet in Istanbul for peace talks, reviving diplomacy generally stalled since 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on ending the war, after Moscow proposed staging direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years.

After initial talks broke down within weeks following Russia’s February 2022 invasion, there has been only limited diplomatic contact between the two sides:

If Moscow does not accept the demand, “preparations will be set in motion” in Brussels for fresh sanctions, a government spokesperson said in Berlin.

Germany warned Monday that the “clock is ticking” for Russia to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine until the end of the day – or face new European sanctions.

“If Moscow does not accept the demand, preparations will be set in motion in Brussels for fresh sanctions,” Stefan Kornelius, a German government spokesperson, reported as saying by BILD.

Up to four months of protests expected at the Dorohusk checkpoint on the Polish side, across from Ukraine’s Yagodin crossing. No limit for buses and aid trucks, but cargo slowed to one per hour.

A planned protest by Polish truck drivers may cause delays for cargo trucks at a key Ukraine-Poland border crossing starting May 12, Ukrainian border officials said Sunday, May 11.

The protest is expected at the Dorohusk checkpoint on the Polish side, across from Ukraine’s Yagodin crossing. According to Polish authorities, protesters may limit cargo truck movement to one vehicle per hour in each direction.

The Kremlin’s “Victory Ceasefire” marginally reduced the bombing and shelling and ground assaults, but the sides were pounding each other pretty much like normal on Monday.

The intensity of artillery exchanges, bomb strikes, mortar strikes and ground assaults across the Russo-Ukrainian War’s 1,000-kilometer (about 620-mile) fighting line abated marginally during a three-day “ceasefire” announced by the Kremlin, but shooting and explosions seemed as violent as ever on Monday, on-the-ground reports and analysts said.

A ceasefire declared by Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin to observe the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe during World War II was effectively not respected by either side, both during the three-day “ceasefire” and after it ended.

Russia’s new S8000 cruise missile contains foreign-made parts from the US, Japan, China and others, including a $16K Chinese jet engine sold openly on AliExpress.

The new Russian S8000 “Banderol” cruise missile contains foreign components, including parts manufactured in China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as nearly two dozen microchips produced by companies from the United States, Switzerland, Japan, China, and South Korea.

According to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR), which published the missile’s technical specifications on the War&Sanctions portal in the “Components in Weapons” section, a distinctive feature of the missile is its ability to make tighter turns than standard Russian cruise missiles (such as the Kh-101, 3M-14, 9M727, and Kh-69) while maintaining the typical cruise missile flight path.

A barely recognizable Surovikin, sacked as head of Russia’s air forces because of his links to the Wagner Group has reappeared in Algeria where he worked as an “unofficial Russian ambassador.”

Several pro-Kremlin milbloggers have reported that Sergey Surovikin, the former commander of Russia’s aerospace forces, took part in celebrations of the 80th Victory Day anniversary as part of a Russian delegation in Algeria. He appeared to be a shadow of the man dubbed “General Armageddon” for his actions in Syria and as the architect of Russia’s defensive line in Ukraine.

The independent Astra news site reporting on Telegram cited Lt. Gen. Viktor Sobolev, a member of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee, saying that Surovikin was now working as a military adviser in Africa.

Zelensky had his first call with Pope Leo XIV, urging Vatican help in returning deported children.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held his first conversation with newly elected Pope Leo XIV, calling it “very warm and truly substantive.”

Leo XIV was elected pontiff on Thursday, becoming the first American in history to hold the position following the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis, in late April.

US President Donald Trump had imposed duties of 145 percent on imports for China last month – compared to 10 percent for other countries in the global tariff blitz he launched last month.

The United States and China announced Monday an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn.

After their first talks since US President Donald Trump launched his trade war, the world’s two biggest economies agreed in a joint statement to bring their triple-digit tariffs down to two figures and continue negotiations.

The Élysée Palace slammed Kremlin disinformation suggestions that France’s president used drugs on a Kyiv-bound train – “This is a tissue, for blowing your nose.”

The French Presidential Office has responded to a false claim circulated by Russian propaganda channels that suggested that French President Emmanuel Macron had been using drugs during a recent diplomatic visit to Kyiv.

On May 11, Russian media spread reports alleging the presence of a “bag of white powder” or a “cocaine spoon” on the table inside the train carriage carrying Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

In May 2024, a fire destroyed a major Warsaw mall with 1,400 mostly Vietnamese-owned shops. On Sunday, Polish officials pinned the blame on Moscow.

Poland’s top diplomat said Monday that he ordered the closure of a Russian consulate over “sabotage” after authorities accused Russia of orchestrating a fire that destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre last year.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv-ally Poland has claimed to be the target of sabotage attempts the authorities blame on Russia.

Russia has a track record of upsetting the democratic process in many countries and it should be no surprise that it is up to its tricks against Poland’s forthcoming presidential election.

The fact that Russia interferes in elections and democratic processes through various means to destabilize societies, fuel existing conflicts, or carry out cyberattacks is well known. Therefore, no one will be surprised to learn that the Kremlin is conducting active operations against Poland, where the first round of the presidential election will be held on Sunday, May 18.

On Wednesday, May 7, a brutal murder occurred on the campus of the University of Warsaw. “Mieszko R” a 22-year-old Polish citizen killed a university employee using an axe. The authorities responded quickly and apprehended the perpetrator. In next to no time, social media was flooded with the false claim that the attacker was an older Ukrainian citizen. This disinformation was spread, among others, by the anonymous “Coolfon” on X. The channel has tens of thousands of followers and regularly posts anti-Western, and anti-Ukrainian content.

The Danish MoD and the European Commission signed an agreement on Friday that makes Denmark responsible for allocating the profits from frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv’s defense industry.

The Danish ministry of Defense announced on Friday, May 9, that it had been chosen by the European Union as the implementing partner for the allocation of funds derived from the interest accrued by frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s domestic defense industry. The fund is likely to be worth around €830 million ($925 million) and will be disbursed using the “Danish model.”

Wanting to support Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion but lacking its own major defense industry, Copenhagen was the first Western supporter to target its military aid on enabling Ukraine to produce weapons locally rather than relying on foreign equipment. It reasoned that domestic production would be cheaper, make maintenance more straightforward and get weapons to the battlefield faster – and so it proved.

Ceasefire first or talks first? As Europe draws a red line, Putin defies it – and Trump sides with him, urging Zelensky to yield. Once again, Trump avoids sanctioning Putin.

Trump just screwed over Zelensky, Ukraine and the four European leaders who visited Kyiv this weekend, siding/rolling over/bending over to Putin in forcing Zelensky to meet Putin in Istanbul for peace talks on May 15.

Remember that the UK, Germany, France, Poland and Ukraine said no talks without a ceasefire and, if not, Russia will be sanctioned. Putin responds by saying talks first before any ceasefire - Trump backs Putin, telling Zelensky to meet Putin in Istanbul and again shows he is terrified of confronting Putin and sanctioning Russia.

Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin answered to the ceasefire proposal by suggesting to first hold direct talks, in a bid to appease US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a quick peace.

Ukraine said Russia had fired over a hundred drones overnight despite attempts from Kyiv’s allies to get Moscow to begin a 30-day ceasefire on Monday.

Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin answered to the ceasefire proposal by suggesting to first hold direct talks, in a bid to appease US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a quick peace.

With pressure coming from the West to cease fire, Putin is offering direct peace talks as a strategic smokescreen aimed at weakening Western support of Ukraine and prolonging the war.

Deceiving the West

As the Kremlin continues to deceptively present itself as open to negotiations, April experienced the highest number of civilian casualties from Russian shelling since September 2024, with at least 209 civilians killed and another 1,146 injured, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Ukrainian National Guard destroys a $25M Russian Tor-M2 (NATO: SA-15) air defense system in the south using drones.

Ukrainian National Guard fighters have struck and destroyed a Russian Tor-M2 short-range air defense missile system, costing around $25 million, in the south of Ukraine using drones.

“Another enemy Tor-M2 air defense system was destroyed in the south! Thanks to the coordinated actions of intelligence and UAV operators, the enemy suffered significant losses,” the National Guard said in a Telegram post, accompanied by a video of the attack.

“Diplomatic outreach must be backed up by real commitments and unified actions across NATO” transatlantic advocate tells Kyiv Post.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Antalya on Wednesday to meet with his NATO counterparts in an informal setting, with the focus on Ukraine and other key security priorities, as well as to reiterate need for transatlantic burden sharing, Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent, who will be covering the trip, reports.

“Looking towards the NATO Summit in The Hague this June, the Secretary [Rubio] will advance President [Donald] Trump’s agenda of ensuring that our Allies contribute their fair share to making NATO stronger and more effective,” the State Department said Sunday.

In May 2024, a fire completely destroyed a large shopping centre in Warsaw and the 1,400 small businesses it housed, most of them owned by members of the Vietnamese community.

Polish authorities accused Russian intelligence services on Sunday of orchestrating a fire that destroyed a large shopping centre last year in the capital of Warsaw.

Since Russia’s February 2022 offensive against Ukraine, Poland -- a loyal ally of Kyiv -- claims to be the target of sabotage attempts which they blame on Russia.

This will be the sixth Weimar+ meeting and the first to be held in the UK. Lammy is expected to announce new sanctions targeting those who support Russia’s invasion.

The UK will host key European ministers in London on Monday, May 12, for “critical” talks focused on “repelling Russian aggression” and strengthening Europe’s security. 

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will welcome officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the European Union for a meeting of the “Weimar+” group, created earlier this year in response to changing US policy on the Ukraine war under President Donald Trump.

As Zelensky’s allies close ranks, the message to Vladimir Putin is unmistakable: comply or collapse.

In a geopolitical masterstroke, European leaders have delivered a seismic ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin: accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by May 12, or face a devastating escalation of sanctions and a torrent of Western arms flooding into Kyiv.

For the first time, this ceasefire carries real consequences for Russian violations, backed by a united front of Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and – crucially – US President Donald Trump, who has signaled support.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin called for Russia and Ukraine to resume bilateral negotiations based on the early 2022 Istanbul protocols that include Russian demands amounting to full Ukrainian surrender. Any agreement based on those protocols would be a capitulation document.
• Putin also continues to demand that any negotiations address Russia’s perceived “root causes” of the war in Ukraine.
• Putin is attempting to manipulate ongoing discussions about a ceasefire and future peace in Ukraine, likely in an effort to undermine Ukrainian-US-European unity around a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold bilateral negotiations in Turkey on May 15.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk. Russian forces recently advanced in the northern Kharkiv and Novopavlivka directions.

As the possibility of talks in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia continue, the Kremlin complains of NATO encroachment, boosting its disinformation game to cover for its own unprovoked invasion.

As talks of a new ceasefire continue, and President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to meeting with the Russian side in Turkey for negotiations, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin continues to demand that any such deal address perceived “root causes” of his invasion of Ukraine. 

Putin said at a press conference in Moscow over the weekend, responding to a joint US-Ukrainian-European proposal for a general ceasefire at least 30 days long beginning on May 12, that the purpose of renewed bilateral Russian-Ukrainian negotiations would be to “eliminate the root causes” of the war in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.