"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power.”
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
Russian political prisoners Ilya Yashin (pictured) , Vladimir Kara-Murza and Andrei Pivovarov, who were released after a major prisoner exchange mediated by Turkiye, give a press conference in Bonn, Germany on Aug. 2, 2024 (Kadir Ilboga/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin on Aug. 2 vowed to return home and build "a happy Russia," just one day after being released from jail in a historic prisoner swap.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Bonn, Germany, Yashin said he had fought against being released, as a life in exile would effectively end his political opposition work in Russia.
"This was my public, absolutely clear, absolutely sincere, and conscious position. I refused to leave Russia under the threat of arrest, recognizing myself as a Russian politician, a patriot," he said.
He said that he understood his imprisonment not only as an anti-war struggle but also as a fight for his right to live in his country, and to engage in independent politics there.
However, Yashin said that "it was made clear to him" that his return to Russia would preclude any exchange of other political prisoners in the foreseeable future.
Yashin was one of 24 detainees swapped by Russia and Western nations on Aug. 1, the largest such move in almost 15 years.
He was speaking in Bonn alongside Vladimir Kara-Murza, an activist and Washington Post contributing columnist, and Andrey Pivovarov, a Russian political activist who was director of Open Russia, which was branded an "undesirable organization" by the Kremlin in 2017.
Yashin said a few days before the swap, he was told he would have to sign a form requesting an official pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin, something he said he refused to do as Putin is a "war criminal."
"When it became clear that an exchange was taking place, I wrote a statement to the head of the pretrial detention center," citing the Russian Constitution, which prohibits the expulsion of Russian citizens from Russia without their consent, he said.
"I consider this event as an illegal expulsion from Russia against my will. More than anything, I want to return home," he said.
"My goal is to return to Russia," he went on. "To achieve a peaceful, prosperous, free and happy Russia."
Yashin is a Russian opposition leader who formerly served in the Moscow City Council from 2017-2021.
Along with the late Boris Nemtsov and other opposition leaders, Yashin protested against the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and publicly denounced the full-scale invasion in 2022.
In June 2022, Yashin was arrested for "disobeying a police officer" and was subsequently accused of "discrediting" the Russian military in July.
The charges stemmed from a YouTube video that Yashin made earlier that year talking about the Russian Bucha massacre, in which Russian soldiers murdered hundreds of Ukrainian civilians in a Kyiv suburb in the early weeks of the full-scale war.
Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in December 2022 for "spreading false information" about the military. His appeal was rejected in April of the following year.
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Chris York
