For today, links to nine reports: from the Associated Press, Kyiv Post, National Public Radio,, Tass, Reuters, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 5-15-25 is HERE, or scroll down. GAZA, WEST BANK and SYRIA entries for today are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM
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A Russian drone strike in northeastern Ukraine kills 9 people, officials say, by Yehor Konovalov and Joanna Kozlowksa | AP KYIV — A Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from a front-line area in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region today, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. Seven people were also injured in the attack in a town around 10 kilometers from Russia’s border. READ MORE . . .
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SBU drone strike hits Russian ammo depot in occupied Crimea, killing troops, by Kateryna Zakharchenko | Kyiv Post Drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service on Friday struck an ammunition depot used by Russia’s 126th Separate Guards Coastal Defense Brigade near the village of Perevalne in occupied Crimea, sources in the security services said. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MAY 16 Ukraine peace talks achieve little beyond prisoner swap pledge. Reported by Charles Maynes | NPR Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agree to a prisoner swap but made no major breakthroughs in Istanbul ceasefire talks. Click HERE to listen and read. Click HERE and HERE for report from AP and Tass.
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FROM MAY 16 Ukraine calls on allies to keep pressure on Russia after talks yield no ceasefire, by Tom Balmforth, Can Sezer and Vladimir Soldatkin | Reuters ISTANBUL — 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 . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia demanded Kyiv pull back troops before ceasefire, Ukrainian source says. From Reuters. ISTANBUL — Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said. The Kremlin declined to comment . . . READ MORE . . .
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Putin-Zelensky meeting possible after ‘agreements’ reached. From Reuters. The Kremlin said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in the future, but only if certain agreements were reached. READ MORE . . .
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Lavrov, Rubio discuss results of Istanbul peace talks, Russian media reports, by Anna Fratsyvir | The Kyiv Independent Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call allegedly at the initiative of the American side to discuss the future of bilateral contacts between Moscow and Washington and recent Istanbul peace talks, Russian state-controlled media reported today. READ MORE . . .
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