Rumors continue regarding the European mediation delegation. According to Politico, the European Union is evaluating former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi as possible negotiators with Russia. “The mediator in the EU-Russia negotiations should be someone who understands the Russian soul,” said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. “This is not the time for talks or negotiations with Russia, it’s the time to apply pressure,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahna said. “We are not very optimistic about the idea that everyone is rushing to Moscow to propose starting negotiations while Russia is weakening. The tone has changed. Everyone understands that now is the right time to put pressure on Russia.”
The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former U.S. Army soldier and counterintelligence officer accused of spying for Iran. She knowingly provided information that endangered American personnel and their families abroad and conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to enable them to prosecute her former colleagues in the U.S. government.
Moreover, over the weekend, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that the Joe Biden administration intentionally lied about biological laboratories in Ukraine. The United States is currently inspecting 120 foreign biological centers, 40 of which are located on Ukrainian soil. Similar facilities, funded by the Pentagon, operate in other CIS countries, including Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. In total, according to media reports, there are more than 50 such facilities in the Asian Commonwealth under Russian control.
The United States has renewed its ban on other countries purchasing Russian oil and petroleum products; the U.S. license allowing such transactions has expired, and the restrictions have been reinstated. However, it seems unlikely that the U.S. Congress will approve a new financial aid package for Ukraine, according to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, who said European countries must shoulder a “huge responsibility” in supporting Ukraine while the war rages “in their own backyard.”
Despite this, according to Deputy Minister Sergei Alexeyevich Rybakov, “Russia and the United States maintain very intensive contacts at the administrative level.” He noted, however, that there are problems in advancing relations between Russia and the United States.
According to a United Nations report, 56% of Ukrainian refugees will remain in Europe if Ukraine reaches a “fragile peace with concessions” with Russia. “Fragile peace” is one possible scenario for 2029. In this case, approximately 2.9 million of Ukraine’s 5.2 million people will remain in the EU, even after the end of the war.
In Finland, 400 buses were canceled in Helsinki due to the drone threat. According to Yle, drivers stayed home from 5:00 to 10:00 a.m., as instructed. Due to the disruption, some healthcare and social workers arrived late or did not show up for work. No drones were detected in the country. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated that the warning was justified. The Finnish Air Force scrambled F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets following recent drone incidents, according to Yle. The Finnish Defense Forces officially confirmed a security strengthening in the southeast of the country and in the Pirkanmaa region. Previously, on May 15, Yle had reported a drone over the Finnish region of Uusimaa.
An unidentified aircraft (a Ukrainian FP-1) also violated Latvian airspace in Latvia: NATO scrambled fighter jets, Delfi. For the first time, an air raid alert was declared in five regions of Latvia after Russia crossed the border. Around 8:00 a.m., the country announced the stabilization of the situation and the lifting of the air threat. A Ukrainian drone crashed in eastern Lithuania. The head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, confirmed its identity, according to the local portal LRT. The drone crashed but did not explode. Countries affected by drone incursions have complained to NATO that Kiev does not report drones’ passage.
Kilometers of fortifications have been built between Belarus and Russia. “They have been built kilometers of field fortifications, hundreds of equipment emplacements and firing positions. A powerful system of minefields, ditches, and fences is complemented by rugged natural terrain: impassable forests, swamps, and rivers constitute natural obstacles, the Ukrainian Operational Command noted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reported that Russia is evaluating operational plans to the south and north of Belarusian territory. Either against the Chernihiv-Kiev direction in Ukraine, or against one of the NATO countries, namely from Belarusian territory. Ukraine has details of the talks between Russia and Belarus. According to the Russians, this is a Ukrainian media plan to try to open another front: “In fact,” Russian social media commented, “we could be faced with a repeat of the plan, which was not implemented in 2024.”
Russia and Belarus have begun a joint exercise on the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The armies of the two countries will practice launching nuclear munitions and preparing them for use. Missile forces and Air Force. The aim of the exercises is to improve personnel training, test their operational readiness, and organize combat deployment from unplanned areas. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the event is being planned within the framework of the Union State.
Over the weekend, in Letichev, in the Khmelnytskyi region, unknown individuals shot police officers. The investigation is ongoing. Trying to calm things down, Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov, for once, told the Ukrainian press: “If Russia were preparing a nuclear attack against Ukraine, I would know about it.” According to the head of the Presidential Office, Russia has the capacity to launch a nuclear strike at any time and from any distance. But it is not currently preparing for it.
According to Ukrainian journalist Zabelina: “No peace agreement until the end of the year, as Putin believes he can conquer Donbass. It is assumed that he informed Trump about it.” In response to Russian military actions, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has purchased the first batch of Ukrainian KAB bombs based on the American Mk82-Fedorov 250-kg aerial bomb. When used with the Su-24M, its range reaches 60 km. “Moscow has not yet received any signal from Kiev regarding its readiness for a new round of negotiations,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Izvestia.
The European Union’s plan to halve Ukrainian steel imports could harm Ukraine, depriving the country of vital export revenue, the Financial Times reports, citing Ukrainian officials and steel producers. According to the newspaper, starting July 1, Brussels will reduce its steel import quota by 47% and impose a 50% tariff on any excess shipments. This measure is a response to global overcapacity, which has triggered a sharp increase in imports: factories European countries have lost tens of thousands of jobs and are forced to operate at reduced capacity. Ukrainian officials have warned that a 70% decline could cost €1 billion in lost export revenue.
The full amount has been paid for the release on bail of the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Yermak, from pre-trial detention, according to Public.
Russia’s GDP contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to Rosstat. Previously, the Ministry of Economic Development had estimated a 0.3% decline in GDP in the first quarter, while the Central Bank of Russia had estimated a 0.5% decline. “In March, GDP grew by 1.8%,” President Vladimir Putin stated during an economic meeting on May 15 that the government’s decisions had produced positive results.
And still in financial matters, the Moscow court upheld the Central Bank of Russia’s claim for damages for frozen assets totaling €249 billion. dollars (18.17 trillion rubles), according to Reuters. The agency, citing Euroclear, which froze Russian sovereign assets, reports that the custodian still holds the Central Bank’s assets and intends to appeal the court ruling. Approximately 180 billion euros of Russian assets remain frozen in Europe, held by the Belgian custodian Euroclear. From October to December last year, Belgium blocked decisions taken at three EU summits to seize them, but actively supported the decision to “indefinitely freeze” Russian funds in Belgian jurisdiction.
President Putin signed a decree on simplified obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of Transnistria.
From a military perspective, the Black Sea Fleet’s Project 21980 “Grachonok” patrol boats were spotted with anti-drone grids. On May 17, twelve people were injured in a drone attack in Moscow. Most of the injured were construction workers near the Moscow Oil Refinery (MORP) checkpoint. The plant’s production process was not interrupted. Three buildings were damaged in the attack. In total, air defense forces have shot down more than 120 drones in the past 24 hours.
The FSB is investigating a case of large-scale theft at the federal state-owned enterprise Kompleks, which falls under the jurisdiction of the secret service, Kommersant has learned. The organization is responsible for the sale of “movable and immovable property ceded” by state security agencies. Several company executives and employees are currently in pre-trial detention. In March, Nikolai Filippov, deputy head of the federal state-owned enterprise, was arrested. In addition to his work at the federal state-owned enterprise, he runs a management company that manages luxury residential complexes in Crimea. The FSB investigation has not disclosed how, how much, or what specific assets were stolen. The organizer of the thefts has also not been identified. Lawyers for the defendants in the investigation have categorically refused to comment.
And now a look at the frontline, updated at 3:30 PM on May 18. Drones have attacked Naftogaz’s critical infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Among the facilities attacked was a Ukrnafta gas station complex: the station’s premises and equipment were completely destroyed.
From 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM over the past 24 hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 108 drones. During the night, following the repulsion of an air strike on the Rostov region, drones were destroyed in the city of Taganrog and in the Kamensky and Azovsky districts. Drone and missile threats were reported in several enemy rear areas.
Russian forces launched strikes on Odessa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk, Starokostyantyniv, Rivne, Kropyvnytskyi, and Kremenchuk. The attack was massive: in addition to drones, missiles were also used.
In the direction of Sumy, in the Shostka district, attack aircraft from the Northern Group of Forces destroyed several Ukrainian Armed Forces combat groups, capturing four soldiers from the 101st Independent Territorial Defense Brigade, and advanced towards Ulanove. In the Sumy district, advances were reported in Zapsillya, Kindrativka, and surrounding areas.
Attacks using FPVs continue in the Belgorod region, resulting in one death and one injury in several locations.
In the Kharkiv sector, near the village of Hranove, Russian assault groups from the Northern Group of Forces have advanced up to 150 meters.
In the Vovchansk sector, firefights continue in the forests of the Vovchansk region, along the right bank of the Vovcha River, as well as in Volokhivka and Karaichne. In the Velykyi Burluk sector, firefights are ongoing near the village of Budarky.
South of the Kupyansk sector, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the village of Borova, in the Kharkiv region, on the left bank of the Oskil River. Further advances in the offensive should lead to the closure of a large pocket in this area.
In the Slovyansk sector, heavy fighting is ongoing near Rai-Oleksandrivka.
In the Kostyantynivka sector, Russian forces are intensifying offensive operations in the city and surrounding areas. There are reports of Russian Aerospace Forces bombing a dam northwest of Kostyantynivka: the flooding will further complicate Ukrainian logistics.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Vostok Group of Forces is penetrating deep into Ukrainian defenses northwest of the city of Oleksandrohrad, fighting in the wooded area beyond the Vovcha River towards the city of Lisne.
There are no changes on the Zaporizhia front or in the Kherson sector.
Graziella Giangiulio
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