Saturday, May 17The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chairs Turkiye-Russia-Ukraine Trilateral Meeting at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkiye on May 16, 2025. (Arda Kucukkaya / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement. Some of Russia’s demands include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from their own territory as a condition for a ceasefire, an unnamed Ukrainian source told Sky News.

Ukraine, Russia agree to hold follow-up meeting after Istanbul peace talks. “Parties have agreed in principle to come together again,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

‘Time to increase the pressure‘ — Zelensky, European leaders speak with Trump following Istanbul peace talks. The conversation took place shortly after the conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, which ended with little progress beyond an agreement on prisoner exchange.

Russia, Ukraine agree on 1,000-for-1,000 POW exchange in Istanbul, Umerov says. “We know the date, but we’re not going to say it yet,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

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Trump says he’s returning to US, expects to meet Putin ‘as soon as we can set it up.’ “I think it’s time for us to just do it,” U.S. Presidnet Donald Trump said in Abu Dhabi, adding that the meeting between the two would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”

Up to 640,000 Russian troops fighting against Ukraine, Syrskyi says. Vadym Skibitskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), reported in March that Russia had deployed 620,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine, a rise from his previous estimate of nearly 580,000 in November 2024.

Putin appoints general who led Mariupol assault as new Russian Ground Forces Commander. Under Andrey Mordvichev’s command, Russian troops carried out the destruction of civilian infrastructure and committed atrocities against both civilians and the Ukrainian military, Ukraine has said.

Explosions rock occupied Crimea as drone attack reportedly sets Russian ammo depot on fire. A fire broke out at an ammunition depot in the village of Perevalne in Russian-occupied Crimea following a series of explosions during a drone attack on the morning of May 16, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported, citing local residents.

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Ukraine war latest: Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions following the talks, no ceasefire agreement

Ukrainian and Russian delegations concluded their talks in Istanbul on May 16 after speaking for less than two hours, with no agreement reached on a full, 30-day ceasefire, and Moscow demanding Kyiv withdraw completely from Ukraine’s four oblasts that President Vladimir Putin claims to have annexed.

Photo: Arif Yaman / Anadolu via Getty Images

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‘Putin is laughing at Trump’ — Ukraine in disbelief as Russia makes a mockery of US-led ceasefire attempts

Russian President Vladimir Putin had rebuffed President Volodymyr Zelensky, his European allies, and the U.S., and in response, Donald Trump simply went along with it, excusing his Russian counterpart for not attending the peace talks in Istanbul that Putin himself proposed.

Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

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‘It’s all a farce’ — Ukrainian soldiers on Russia’s ‘smokescreen’ peace talks in Istanbul

Ukraine continues to insist on a ceasefire, supported by the U.S. and Europe, saying that a halt to active warfare must come before any real peace talks are possible. Russia has so far rejected a truce four times — on March 11, March 25, May 11 and the most recent one on May 16 in Istanbul.

Photo: Contributor / Getty Images

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Who is Vladimir Medinsky? The Putin aide leading Russia’s delegation at Ukraine peace talks

Despite an invitation from Volodymyr Zelensky to meet in Istanbul, Vladimir Putin was a no-show in Turkey, sending instead an aide, Vladimir Medinsky, to head the Russian delegation in peace talks. Medinsky headed the only other direct talks between the two sides in March–April 2022.

Photo: Yasin Akgul / AFP via Getty Images

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Human cost of Russia’s war

Ukraine brings back bodies of 909 fallen soldiers. The bodies of soldiers were recovered from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts as well as from morgues in Russia.

With Ukraine’s Peaky Blinders chasing Russian soldiers near Pokrovsk

International response

‘This is turkey time’ — Trump vows sanctions on Moscow if peace talks fail, says Putin is ‘tired’ of war. “Honestly, I will (impose sanctions), if we’re not gonna make a deal,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview published on May 16. “This would be crushing for Russia because they’re having a hard time now with the economy.”

‘We have to increase the pressure‘ — Von der Leyen vows new Russia sanctions after Putin skips peace talks. Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission is preparing a new sanctions package, which would include sanctions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, additional listings of vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet, a lower oil price cap, and sanctions on Russia’s financial sector.

As Russia sticks to hardline demands during peace talks, Europe frustrated with Trump’s swerves, Bloomberg reports. European officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they remain unsure of U.S. President Donald Trump’s next move and fear that his unpredictable stance could undercut momentum toward a unified Western response.

‘It was my duty to step down‘ — Former US Ambassador to Ukraine confirms resignation over Trump’s policy. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who held the role since 2022, accused the Trump administration of prioritizing pressure on Ukraine, the victim of Russia’s full-scale invasion, rather than confronting the Kremlin.

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In other news

Russian economic growth slowing down, Rosstat reports. Russia’s economy is experiencing a sharp slowdown in growth, according to a report released by the governmental statistics agency Rosstat on May 16. GDP only grew by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2025 – a notable decline from 4.5% growth in the previous quarter and 5.4% in the same period last year.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Denisova, Francis Farrell, Tymur Zadorozhnyy, Olena Goncharova, and Lucy Pakhnyuk.

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