Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 05-16-2025

Kyiv argues that more should be done to target Russian businesses, space agencies, and shipping vessels, as Europe and Washington mull plans to move forward with further sanctions against Russia.

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mikhailo Podolyak has called for further sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, the Russian Atomic Energy Agency (ROSATOM), and the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS in a social media post on Friday.

“Regarding sanctions: this means depriving [Russia] of oil export revenues by sanctioning the shadow fleet and all the insurance and logistics businesses that deal with it,” Podolyak wrote on Telegram.

The former US ambassador to Ukraine accused Trump of blaming the ‘victim’ – Ukraine – instead of the aggressor – Russia. She characterized the administration’s current negotiations as “appeasement.”

The United States’ former ambassador to Ukraine, Bridgette Brink, resigned in protest last month after nearly 30 years in public service, according to an op-ed penned by the veteran diplomat and published on Friday.

Brink was appointed by former President Joe Biden as US ambassador to Ukraine in April 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.  

The parties have agreed on a major prisoner exchange but failed to agree on a ceasefire – the very reason the meeting was called.

Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war (POWs) on Friday, but failed to reach a deal on the talks’ main objective – a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

The two parties also hinted at some progress in setting up a direct talk between the two heads of state, but the results of the talks have been lackluster.  

Delegations spoke via interpreter; Zelensky warns talks are a sham and calls for more sanctions if Russia is not serious.

The Ukrainian and Russian delegations at the recent talks in Istanbul communicated via an interpreter.

RBC-Ukraine media outlet cited an informed source confirming the use of an interpreter, but did not provide further details about the talks. Some media outlets noted that during the 2022 negotiations, the Ukrainian delegation had switched to speaking Russian.

Russia loses ground as Kyiv gains momentum, boosted by artillery output and global online support. Analyst Jonathan MS Pearce breaks it down for Kyiv Post.

The EU also plans to impose a 6.5% tariff on fertilizers, which help Russia to finance the war in Ukraine.

The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee backed a proposal to raise tariffs by 50% on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, which had previously avoided other EU trade restrictions, including sugar, vinegar, flour, and animal feed, the parliament reported Thursday, May 15. 

The EU also plans to impose a 6.5% tariff on fertilizers from the two countries. On top of that, a fixed tariff of €40-45 ($45-50) per tonne will apply during 2025–2026. By 2028, the union is set to increase the duty to €430 ($482) per tonne. 

As the Turkey talks lose momentum, the new pontiff is now offering the Vatican as a peaceful ground for Kyiv and Moscow to engage in dialogs.

Pope Leo XIV has offered the Vatican to be a potential mediator between Kyiv and Moscow in an attempt to end the full-scale invasion that has been ravaging Ukraine for over three years.

The pontiff has described the ongoing talks as “tragic” after Russian leader Vladimir Putin refused to attend in person despite calling the talks, according to Politico.

If you want to get ahead in the modern Russian army, attack relentlessly, report incremental success to the Kremlin, and don’t worry too much about losses, civilian or friendly.

The Kremlin on Thursday promoted two hard-fighting paratrooper generals with reputations for attacking relentlessly without much regard to casualties to senior commands that aim to defeat the Ukrainian army by overwhelming it.

Colonel General Valery Solodchuk, a career airborne infantry officer, was appointed the new commander of Russia’s Central Military District, the main Russian army command responsible for ground and air operations in Ukraine’s war-critical Donbas region.

Ukraine and Russia agreed on a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner exchange during Istanbul peace talks, with the swap expected to take place in the coming days.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated that during the negotiations in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a large-scale prisoner exchange in a “1,000 for 1,000” format. The Russian side also confirmed this information.

“The purpose of our talks was to discuss a ceasefire, a prisoner exchange, and we are also potentially preparing a meeting at the level of the countries’ leaders. We talked about a ‘1,000 for 1,000’ exchange and are also working on other modalities for this swap,” Umerov told reporters immediately after the talks with Russia in Istanbul on Friday, May 16.

Ukraine said it has arrested a soldier accused of leaking his location to Russia’s FSB to guide strikes on his unit. He faces life in prison for high treason.

Ukraine said it has arrested a soldier who leaked his live locations to Russian intelligence to help the latter adjust strikes on him and his unit – and got tipped off right before the strikes.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the suspect is a 31-year-old driver serving in an assault regiment in Ukraine’s Kursk incursion who “was performing combat missions” in the region.

Drones are taking over war zones, but not just as weapons. As Lord Ashcroft reports from Kyiv, they’re now providing round-the-clock overwatch… and testimony to bravery.

The emergence of sophisticated aerial drones over the past three years of Ukraine’s brutal war with Russia has changed the shape of global warfare forever. However, it will also alter the way in which we recognize gallantry. While so-called “kamikaze drones” are used to attack targets and kill service personnel, the modern battlefield is also under scrutiny like never before from “reconnaissance drones” which record footage around the clock.

When someone shows exceptional courage – but their bravery is either witnessed by very few or even none of their comrades – they can still be decorated on the basis of a video recorded from the skies. As someone with a lifelong interest in the concept of courage and the owner of the largest collection of Victoria Crosses in the world, I considered this to be a fascinating development. So much so that I travelled to Ukraine to hear the account of a prolonged act of bravery – recorded by numerous drones over several hours – which almost defies belief.

Ukrainian sources said Moscow raised demands that are deemed non-starters, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian territories.

Friday’s Kyiv-Moscow talks ended at around 3:30 p.m., a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told AFP. 

However, there are conflicting reports as to whether the talks have ended officially – Russian state outlet RIA Novosti claims the parties are taking a break, while a senior Ukrainian official told AFP that more talks can happen on Friday but they are “not planned.”

Ukraine has recovered the bodies of 909 fallen defenders from eight frontline sectors and from Russian territory, officials say. Identification efforts are now underway.

Ukraine has recovered the bodies of 909 soldiers who died during hostilities on eight active front line areas, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW).

The report shared on Telegram on Friday, May 16, reads that the fallen include servicemen who lost their lives defending Ukraine in some of the most intense combat zones: Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kharkiv. It also includes bodies previously held in morgues on Russian territory.

Europe’s political center is holding, but for how much longer?

Another Sunday, another election – or three.

The EU faces a political stress test this weekend as voters in Poland, Romania, and Portugal head to the polls in what is being dubbed the EU’s ‘Super Sunday’.

Few expect possible gains by the far right to trigger an immediate political earthquake in the European Council, where EU leaders set the bloc’s political direction. Yet the ballots will offer a snapshot of how far populist forces can push into Europe’s political mainstream.

Trump said peace in Ukraine can’t be achieved until he and Putin “get together,” adding the meeting will happen “as soon as we can set it up.”

Before returning to Washington after a tour of the Persian Gulf countries, US President Donald Trump said he intends to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as possible, suggesting the world will be safer soon after they meet.

According to him, the meeting will take place “as soon as we can set it up,” as delegations from the US, Ukraine and Russia gather in Turkey for the first direct peace talks with both Kyiv and Moscow present since 2022.

The talks, originally scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m., have now started, with Ukraine’s defense minister leading the delegation opposite a team headed by a hardline Kremlin representative.

The highly awaited direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul have started at 1:38 p.m. on Friday – a little later than the 12:30 p.m. initially scheduled, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Russian state media TASS earlier reported that the talks would start at midday. 

Multiple outlets, citing Ukrainian officials, have said Russia rejected US and Turkish mediators in Friday’s peace talks.

Unnamed Ukrainian officials said the Moscow delegation rejected US and Turkish mediation during Friday’s peace talks, insisting that it takes place bilaterally with Kyiv. 

The Kyiv-Moscow talks, initially scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m., were delayed for more than an hour.

US Secretary of State Rubio urged an immediate ceasefire in Istanbul talks with Turkish and Ukrainian officials.

The top US diplomat this morning reiterated the American position of an immediate ceasefire in a meeting with Turkish and Ukrainian officials, Kyiv Post’s correspondent who is traveling with Rubio in Istanbul reports.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace to discuss the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war, the State Department said.

Here is a sampling of what is being said in the European media about Putin’s no-show for talks with Zelensky in Turkey.

Vladimir Putin will not be present at the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia that commence today in Istanbul. The Kremlin had left the question of who would be attending open until the last minute, even though it was Putin himself who proposed direct negotiations in response to Sunday’s joint European-US demand for an immediate 30-day ceasefire.

Putin predictably conspicuous by his absence

Simion gained almost 41 percent of votes in the contest’s first round - double the score of his rival in Sunday’s run-off, pro-EU centrist candidate Nicusor Dan.

The European Union is bracing for yet another far-right politician to join the 27-nation club of leaders, with George Simion the favourite to win Romania’s presidential election on Sunday.

Yet, while many in Brussels are wary of Simion’s brand of politics -- the nationalist eurosceptic is a big fan of US President Donald Trump -- there is also a keenness not to overplay the impact of a potential victory.

Friday morning Kyiv’s air defense responded to a Russian Shahed drone attack; debris hit a heating facility in Sviatoshynskyi district, damaging cars and windows, with a fire reported.

On the morning of Friday, May 16, Ukraine’s air defense systems were activated in Kyiv during an air raid alert prompted by the threat of Russian attack drones, with later reports confirming a fire ignighted when debris from a downed drone fell onto the grounds of a heating facility.

“Air defense forces are working to eliminate the threat in the skies over Kyiv,” the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA) reported at 6:35 a.m.

Before the three-way meeting between the Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish delegations, Ukraine will hold separate talks with the US and Turkey.

Ukraine and Russia plan on Friday in Istanbul to hold their first direct peace talks in more than three years.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had travelled to Turkey but said he would not attend the talks, after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin declined his calls for face-to-face negotiations.

Partisans report dead Russian soldiers and damaged warehouses after strikes on key military bases in occupied Crimea.

Explosions were heard across occupied Crimea on the morning of Friday, May 16, with reports of strikes on multiple Russian military bases.

The partisan movement Atesh reported on Telegram that explosions occurred near the settlement of Perevalne in southern Crimea. Targets included the base of the 126th Separate Guards Coastal Defense Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the 8th Separate Artillery Regiment (both part of military unit 12676).

US Secretary of State is meeting with senior Turkish and Ukrainian officials. Diplomats describe today’s setting as “either a monumental mess, or a very sophisticated diplomatic game of chess.”

Marco Rubio, the top US diplomat, arrived on Friday in Istanbul, where, after some confusion and uncertainty, Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to meet face-to-face for the first time since 2022 for ceasefire negotiations.

The confusion was centered on the location and the format of today’s talks following weeks of diplomatic maneuvering among Washington, Kyiv and Moscow just to get everyone anywhere near a negotiating table.

“We can’t be running around the world looking for Putin,” Zelensky said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Thursday, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Ukraine’s president said his defense minister would head up Kyiv’s team.

These will be the first direct talks between the sides since March 2022, but hopes of a major breakthrough were further dented by U.S. President Donald Trump who said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Putin. 

Merz criticized Russian leader Vladimir Putin for failing to attend the talks in Turkey, calling it a misstep.

A new package of EU sanctions against Russia could be approved at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on May 20.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this in a post on social media platform X, according to Ukrinform.

The election will determine whether Prime Minister Tusk and his government will be able to fully exercise power. Here is rundown of the candidates, issues and likely outcome.

On Sunday, May 18, Poland will hold the first round of presidential elections. The vote will mark the end of an election season that began in the fall of 2023 with parliamentary, local government, and European Parliament elections.

Thirteen candidates are running in the race for the presidency. There has been considerable controversy in Poland regarding the registration of these candidates – each must submit 100,000 signatures of support to the National Electoral Commission in order to qualify. The credibility of the signatures submitted by some candidates has been questioned. Gathering such a large number requires significant effort, which appeared to be lacking among candidates with minimal public support or recognition. Accusations have emerged suggesting that some of the signatures may have been bought.

A Ukrainian F-16 pilot downed three air targets before ejecting during a mission to repel a Russian attack. He was rescued and is in stable condition.

A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot ejected safely after downing three Russian air targets and engaging a fourth during a night-time air defense mission, Ukraine’s Air Force Command reported early Friday.

According to the report, the incident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on May 16, while the aircraft was carrying out a combat mission to repel a Russian aerial assault. 

In an intercepted call, a Russian soldier complains of no combat pay and says troops drive tanks for vodka, get drunk, and terrorize locals in Russia’s border village.

In one of the intercepted calls published by the “I Want to Live” [Хочу жить] project, a Russian soldier complains not only about missing payments but also about the complete moral and disciplinary collapse within the Russian army.

“There’s f*cking no salary,” the soldier says angrily. According to him, the money comes in randomly: first 29,000 rubles, then 15,000, then 37,000 — and that’s it, no more.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s invitation to engage in bilateral negotiations in Istanbul and continues refusing to offer concessions to end the war in Ukraine.
• The Russian delegation in Istanbul does not include officials in Putin’s innermost circle and is largely the same delegation that Russia sent to the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in 2022 in Istanbul.
• Medinsky explicitly described the May 2025 Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul as a continuation of the early 2022 Istanbul negotiations during which Russia issued demands that were tantamount to Ukraine’s complete capitulation.
• Medinsky also reiterated Putin’s longstanding demands that any resolution to the war must result in regime change in Ukraine and restrictions on NATO.
• Reported Kremlin instructions to Russian media explaining how to cover the Istanbul negotiations indicate that the Kremlin is preparing the Russian population for a longer war in Ukraine and is not interested in engaging in good-faith negotiations that require compromises from both sides.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Lyman, Novopavlivka, and Velyka Novosilka.

Europe again calls for a cease in hostilities in “Russia’s war of aggression,” while the British prime minister says Putin must “pay the price for avoiding peace.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin “must pay the price for avoiding peace” ahead of a European Political Community meeting in Albania on Friday.

“Putin’s tactics to dither and delay, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed across Ukraine, [are] intolerable,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit, taking place the same day talks are expected between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.

Ministry spokesperson tells Reuters that Russia’s appetite for peace talks decreases as they regain some territory on the front lines.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday told Reuters that its appetite for peace talks diminishes as it makes more gains on the frontlines in Ukraine, explaining why Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin skipped out on direct talks in Turkey this week between Moscow and Kyiv.

When asked if Russia’s position had changed since June 2024 when Putin entertained peace talks with the understanding that Ukraine would officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia, Zakharova said, “Yes, there are these changes in the Russian position.”