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War
1539th day. The three-day ceasefire has ended. The drones are attacking again. Ukraine proposes “airport truce”
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
World
The three-day truce declared from May 9 to 11 has ended. On the night of May 12, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with drones. According to estimates by the command of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian troops launched 216 drones of various types, including simulator drones, 192 of which were shot down. 25 strike drones were recorded in 10 places and debris fell in another five, the Ukrainian military reported. The debris of the downed drone fell , in particular, into a multi-storey residential building in Kiev, resulting in a fire. In Dnepr, due to a drone attack, transport infrastructure was damaged and one person was injured.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that from midnight, when the truce expired, to 09:00 Moscow time, 31 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov regions. At noon, the military department announced that 108 drones had been shot down over the past 24 hours, without providing further details.
“Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that lasted for several days,” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wrote on social networks. He stressed that Ukraine will act in a mirror manner in response to all Russian steps. “Russia must end this war, and it is she who must take a step towards a real, lasting ceasefire,” Zelensky emphasized.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said on the morning of May 12 that Kiev offered Moscow to extend the truce, “but in response Russia launched 200 drones.” Sibiga stressed that it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia through “effective long-range sanctions” on Ukraine and decisive actions by allies.
Russian authoritiesannounced on May 9 that they do not plan to extend the truce beyond the three-day period.
The American administration, according to sources from The Kyiv Independent, is still trying to find a way to convince the Russian side to agree to a further ceasefire. The Trump administration, the publication writes, hopes to persuade Kyiv to “agree to as much as possible” or at least “not to interfere with the process.” At the same time, according to sources of The Kyiv Independent, the United States may offer Russia the lifting of sanctions.
“In general, Russians are concerned about three things: Donbass, recognition of territories, including the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and the lifting of sanctions,” the source said, adding that “the Americans, in principle, are ready to do this.” In Kyiv, according to the publication, such a plan is regarded as “a very bad deal.”
Andrei Sibiga, in turn, voiced the idea of an “airport truce”, within the framework of which the warring parties would refrain from attacking airports. He told Politico on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on May 11 that the EU could help broker such a truce. According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Putin may be prompted to conclude such an agreement by the fact that large Russian airports, including Sheremetyevo in Moscow and Pulkovo in St. Petersburg, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks.
EU officials, a source familiar with the discussions told Politico, were wary of Sibiga's proposal. The foreign ministers of the EU countries, the publication’s interlocutor noted, will first need to determine what Europe wants from any direct contact with Moscow. The European Union, he emphasized, “cannot act blindly.”
US President Donald Trump, announcing on the evening of May 8 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day truce, also said that the warring parties were ready to exchange prisoners - a thousand people on each side. As of May 12, the exchange has not yet taken place.
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
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Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Andrey (Far East) The war is far from us, and everyone around pretends as if nothing has changed.
What has changed is that our future has been stolen from us. The worst thing is that it was stolen from my children. As an adult, I even like this bottom in the economy, as it will make more and more people think: why the hell was it even necessary? There is no longer Z on avatars or cars, which is good. Of those with whom I can talk about these topics, I no longer ask the question: do you remember what it was like before Crimea? After all, until the age of 14 everything was much better. They already know the answers themselves, at least internally. Everyone is tired of the war, even the most defeated patriots.
But it’s a shame for my children - they’ve been dealing with this shit for decades. For them, it’s almost like fairy tales - to fly anywhere with a Russian passport, not to look at prices in grocery stores, study abroad, etc. We had all this, they won’t have the chance for a long time.