The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes about the ICAO decision on the case of downed flight MH17: “The council, which does not include Russia, concluded that the responsibility for the downed plane fell on the Russian Federation. However, there is no text of the decision itself, including its justification. That is, they voted “blindly”.
The European Union will immediately begin working on the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions, the head of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
After Putin made it clear that he would not attend talks with Ukraine in Istanbul tomorrow, a US official told Reuters that Trump would not be present either. According to the WSJ, citing Ukrainian officials: “The meeting with the Russian delegation will only serve to discuss the introduction of a 30-day ceasefire”.
The US delegation arrived in Istanbul, says the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The Russian delegation has also arrived in Istanbul. The United States is proposing to resume the work of the Russia-NATO Council as part of the Ukrainian deal, Bloomberg reports, citing a source.
On May 14, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Denis Sybiga met with US Secretary of State Rubio in Antalya. They were joined by Senator Lindsey Graham.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky said while waiting to meet Erdogan in Ankara that: “The level of the Russian delegation is more like a farce level.” “We will think about what to do and what our steps will be,” he said in Ankara. Zelensky’s delegation traveling to Istanbul will include the head of the presidential office Andriy Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Denis Sybiha and presidential adviser Ihor Zhovkva, Ukrainian media reported, citing a source close to Zelensky.
Erdogan has called for an immediate ceasefire in talks with Zelensky, the Turkish presidential office reports.
Complicating the negotiations as usual is the British presence. “The British Prime Minister Starmer’s security adviser, Jonathan Powell, will travel to Turkey to advise Zelensky on upcoming talks between Russia and Ukraine,” the Guardian reports. As the newspaper points out, Powell’s recurring advice is not to do anything that might alienate Trump.
Of particular interest is the lineup of the Russian delegation attending the talks in Istanbul: Zorin A.S. – First Deputy Chief of Information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Podobreevskaya E.S. – Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation for State Policy in the Humanitarian Field. Polischuk A.A. – Director of the Second Department of the CIS Countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Shevtsov V.I. – Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Russian Defense Ministry, headed by Presidential Adviser Vladimir Medinsky who was appointed head of the group negotiating. Moscow therefore regards the current negotiations as a continuation of the negotiating process that began three years ago in Istanbul – “Istanbul 1” and the path to eliminating the root causes of the conflict is determined by the choice of negotiators.
“Putin defined the tasks and negotiating position in Istanbul after a meeting with all the commanders of the special military operation.” “The Russian delegation in Istanbul is determined to find possible solutions and points of contact.” “The goal of direct contacts with Ukraine is to establish long-term peace by eliminating the root causes of the conflict,” Medinsky said.
The Russians arrived in Istanbul in the early morning, while the Ukrainians postponed the meetings in the afternoon. Putin held a meeting on Wednesday evening to prepare for negotiations with Kiev, Peskov said. In addition to the members of the negotiating team, the meeting was attended by Lavrov, Belousov, Zolotov, Shoigu, Gerasimov and Bortnikov, as well as commanders of troop groups in the zone of the Special Military Operation.
Russia is ready for a serious discussion in Istanbul on Ukraine, but the outcome of the talks will not depend only on Moscow’s position, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. The Russian delegation in Istanbul received an order from Putin to focus on long-term peace in Ukraine, Maria Zakharova said. The delegation is working within the framework clearly defined earlier by the Russian president.
“Ukraine becomes smaller every time Kiev breaks off negotiations,” said Zakharova, the official spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called The ongoing negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul ended with an intrigue: “Zelensky is a pathetic person”, speaking of his “demands” on Putin’s presence in Istanbul. There can be no question of any presence of foreign military forces in Ukraine, Lavrov commented.
And now a look at the front line updated at 15:30 on May 15. Drone attack in the Carpathian region, Ukrainian authorities do not confirm the destruction of the drone. “The Russian armed forces have already launched a summer offensive”, says the spokesman for the Kharkiv OTG.
In the night, in the Rostov region, an air strike by a Ukrainian drone repelled in Novoshakhtinsk.
Ukrainian monitoring channels reported explosions in the regions of Volhynia, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Kiev, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Kharkiv and Sumy, and Russian drone strikes.
In the Bryansk region, Ukrainian forces attacked the border village of Kamensky Khutor in Klimovsky district with kamikaze drones; three civilians were injured.
On the Kursk border, in Tetkino, fighting continues: both sides are carrying out high-intensity mutual shelling and are trying to completely take control of each other’s supply routes. Attempts by Ukrainians to cross the border have also been reported from Novyi Put. “The Ukrainians continue to want to infiltrate Russian territory, despite significant losses, they continue to introduce new assault groups into battle,” reports Russian GrV Sever.
In the Sumy region, Russian forces are moving away from the Zhuravka settlement and are attacking Bilovody, also trying to advance towards the settlement.
In the Belgorod region, Ukrainian forces continued to attack with drones, 7 drone strikes were counted in the evening.
Ukrainian authorities announced an urgent evacuation in Lyman, the front is approaching from the direction of Zarichne, Donetsk where Russian forces are leveling the positions of the Ukrainian forces with heavy aerial bombs. There are 10 kilometers to Liman, abandoned by Russian troops in October 2022.
North of Toretsk, Russian forces continue to attack the Dyliivka area. In the direction of Pokrovs’k, fighting continues in the area of Malynivka and Myrne. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of Mykhailivka on the road to Myrnohrad.
In the direction of South Donetsk, Russian forces are fighting for the settlement of Bahatyr, which is an important node of the enemy defense.
Russian forces are storming the last buildings in the center of Chasiv Yar. The assault operations and attacks with FPV drones and artillery have been significantly intensified. For now, the last part of the city center is in a gray zone. Most of the Ukrainian forces are in the forests behind it.
In the Zaporizhia region, Ukrainians attacked the administration of the city of Kamyanka-Dniprovs’ka with drones, two employees of the administration were injured. At least 8 artillery shells were also recorded hitting the city.
In the DPR, in Horlivka, a woman was injured as a result of a Ukrainian artillery attack.
Graziella Giangiulio
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