The Daily Populous Monday May 12nd, 2025 evening edition
Authored by inews.co.uk and submitted by theipaper

Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 100 drones overnight, Kyiv said, after Moscow rejected the UK and EU’s calls for a 30-day ceasefire

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Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 100 drones overnight, the Ukrainian military said, after Moscow rejected UK and European calls for a 30-day ceasefire.

Sir Keir Starmer met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday in Kyiv alongside France’s Emmanuel Macron, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk and the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where the leaders jointly issued a stern demand that Vladimir Putin agree to pause the fighting.

Zelensky said he would accept the ceasefire, which he said would smooth the ground ahead of a meeting in Turkey on Thursday proposed by Putin.

Starmer, Zelensky, Macron, Polish PM Donald Tusk and the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on call with Donald Trump from Kyiv (Photo: Mstyslav Chernov/AP)

“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey,” Zelensky said.

In later remarks he said: “A complete and unconditional ceasefire – long term, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy – could bring peace much closer.”

Speaking at a press conference marking the end of Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations on Sunday, Putin said Russia would engage in talks “without any preconditions”, appearing to suggest that he was not interested in a ceasefire.

In the hours that followed, Russia attacked Ukraine with 108 Shahed and decoy drones overnight from Sunday into Monday across Odesa, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, and Zhytomyr, Ukrainian officials said.

They added that 55 drones were shot down by Ukrainian troops.

Eight more warnings for Russian strikes – from drones, bombs, and missiles – were issued on Monday morning across Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv.

The ceasefire demand lost much of its potency after Donald Trump made clear he did not consider it a prerequisite for the broader peace talks.

Peace summit plan survives, even with no ceasefire

Posting on Truth Social, the US President said: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY.”

He added: “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the US, will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy reiterated the demands on Monday, calling on Putin “to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire, and to get serious about talks”.

Lammy hosted European counterparts in London on Monday to hold talks on the threat posed by Russia, which he described as “existential for Europe as a whole”.

He and other foreign ministers are expected to announce new sanctions against Russia later on Monday.

David Lammy with the EU foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kallas in London on Monday (Photo: Adrian Dennis/Getty Images)

Despite the continuing attacks, Putin and Zelensky’s meeting in Turkey is expected to go ahead.

One Ukrainian official told Axios that Zelensky would be in Turkey on Thursday even if Moscow does not agree to his ceasefire proposal.

OneOnOne6211 on May 12nd, 2025 at 13:27 UTC »

Not exactly surprising.

It's clear Putin doesn't currently want to end this war. I mean, I'm sure that if he got his true maximalist demands he would do it, but that would really just be a surrender from Ukraine forced by Trump and the United States. The only reason why Putin is going along with all of this is in order to string the United States along as much as possible while he tries to make gains on the ground. Or, in a rare scenario, if he can actually get his maximalist demands. Trump completely causing the U.S. to pull back is also a good outcome for him. Putin has never acknowledged the EU as a legitimate, geopolitical entity. The EU has no army to send after him. And, more importantly, Putin doesn't WANT the EU to have any legitimacy. A united Europe is something Putin wants to avoid at all costs. That's why he constantly funds efforts to undermine the whole project. Putin's dream has always been for the two, in his mind, great powers (Russia and the United States) to negotiate over everyone else's heads. Over Ukraine's heads and over European countries' heads. Because he has always believed in sphere of influence, great power politics where the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must. And no doubt believes that such a negotiation which doesn't take into account Ukrainian or European wishes is significantly beneficial to him. And Trump, in his infinite stupidity, has served him this up on a platter.

Schwartzy94 on May 12nd, 2025 at 12:48 UTC »

Well time to implement the new sanctions.

m__s on May 12nd, 2025 at 12:34 UTC »

What a surprise.

Vladimir STOP!