In the shadow of the Middle East: the war in Ukraine continues - with secret negotiations, new killer drones and attempts to shift the front line

A serviceman of the 93rd Kholodnoyarsk separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the outskirts of Druzhkovka, Donetsk region.

Photo by IRYNA RYBAKOVA / 93RD SEPARATE MECHANIZED BRIGADE "KHOLODNYI YAR" / AFP

While the world media condemns every sneeze coming from the Middle East, the war between Russia and Ukraine continues quite intensely. There are changes at the front, in diplomacy, and in technology. Several important events have occurred in recent weeks: secret negotiations that may indicate at least some movement towards a settlement, successes in the Black Sea, where the Russian fleet and oil infrastructure are being methodically destroyed, and Russian achievements in the skies thanks to the new Geranium-5 jet drone. Nikolai Mitrokhin* collected the main news from the front.

International situation

While the world media is focused on the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Russian-Ukrainian war has formally faded into the background. However, secret negotiations are clearly continuing behind the scenes - this is evidenced by indirect signals that continually leak into the public space.

US Vice President J.D. Vance said that to resolve the conflict, the issue of “several kilometers of front” remains to be resolved. The new head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Kirill Budanov, spoke in the spirit that he expects the war to end soon. He unexpectedly announced the actual end of the state confrontation with the UOC - and this was one of the Kremlin’s key demands . Moreover, the idea was voiced to extend the protection from mobilization to the clergy of the UOC - on an equal basis with other recognized confessions. It turned out that this is also a “Ukrainian church”, and not a structure of the Moscow Patriarchate, as the Ukrainian authorities and media previously claimed .

At the same time, another exchange of prisoners took place - quietly, without unnecessary publicity. The Easter Truce was declared. The United States has routinely extended the deadline for lifting restrictions on Russian oil supplies until May 11. And Turkish President Erdogan proposed organizing a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Istanbul - with the participation of Erdogan himself and Trump.

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