Direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine ended with the largest exchange of prisoners and willingness to discuss the ceasefire. What next? Vladimir Medinsky, heading the Russian delegation in negotiations with Ukraine, appears in front of the press near the building of the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul, Türkiye, on May 15, 2025. Photo: Tolga Bozoglu / EPA In Istanbul, for the first time since the spring of 2022, direct negotiations of Russia and Ukraine were held.

Zarema Musaeva in court. Photo: Crew Against Torture The Supreme Court in the republic of Chechnya, in the Russian North Caucasus, refused a request on Friday from the legal team of Zarema Musaeva, the jailed mother of three prominent Chechen human rights, for her release from pretrial detention on medical grounds, according to Crew Against Torture, a Russian human rights nonprofit.

Ukrainians write the names of missing people on a placard during a rally in support of prisoners of war, at Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, 30 April 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to a major prisoner exchange following the direct talks that ended in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday, Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, said in a press statement reported by TASS.

General Oleg Salyukov (L) pictured with then-Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu (C) and Vladimir Putin in Moscow after a Victory Day parade on 9 May 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/MIKHAEL KLIMENTYEV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL General Oleg Salyukov, chief of Russia’s Ground Forces, has been dismissed from his position and named deputy secretary of the country’s Security Council, a top Kremlin consultative body, according to a decree signed by Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

Photo: Turkish Foreign Ministry / EPA-EFE The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since 2022 ended in the Turkish city of Istanbul after less than two hours as the delegations prepare press statements, a source told state news agency TASS after conflicting reports that the talks had been put “on pause”. A Ukrainian diplomatic source previously told Reuters that Russia’s demands in Istanbul were “detached from reality” and went “far beyond” anything previously discussed.

The Cannes showed “two prosecutors” by Sergey Loznitsa: a horror about the Stalin prison with Alexander Kuznetsov and Alexander Filippenko Photo: SBS Productions / Festival de Cannes Gray walls, brown walls. Iron doors, thick bars. The convicts put the walls of the Bryansk prison of the NKVD.

According to the media, Moscow demanded that Kyiv withdraw troops from four regions Photo: Foreign Ministry of Turkey / EPA-EFE Photo: Foreign Ministry of Turkey / EPA-EFE On May 16, direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul. The delegation of Russia was headed by Vladimir Putin's assistant Vladimir Medinsky, the delegation of Ukraine - Minister of Defense Rustem Umarov. In total, negotiations lasted less than two hours.

Relatives of victims hail UN aviation council ruling finding Russia responsible for downing flight MH17 Chairs set up by family members of victims of the MH17 crash outside the Russian embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, 8 March 2020.

Russian skaters are returning to international competitions, but not in full force. Who will go to the Olympic selection in Beijing? Alina Gorbacheva acts at the stage of the Russian Grand Prix for Figure Skating in Moscow, October 22, 2022. Photo: Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency / ABACA / VIDA Press The International Union of Skatytsy (ISU) approved the neutral status of only four Russian skaters.

The occupation head of the New Kakhovka of the Kherson region Vitaly Gur recorded an apology for the video in which he swore against the background of the monument to the heroes of war. He published them in his telegram channel the day before, the publicist Oleg Kashin paid attention to this. Gura also recorded the new video against the background of the monument. According to the official, the video with obscenities was shot a year ago without his knowledge, it carried a “comic character”.

Wilbur J. Cohen federal building. Photo: G. Edward Johnson, CC by 4.0 The US presidential administration Donald Trump plans to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen federal building in Washington, which houses the headquarters of the Voice of America (VOA). This was reported by Bloomberg. According to the agency, a building located two quarters from the Capitol is included in the list of real estate, which federal authorities want to get rid of. The building area exceeds 90 thousand square meters.

Ilya Azar. Screenshot from a Novaya Gazeta Europe video Russia’s Interior Ministry has put Ilya Azar, a Novaya Gazeta Europe special correspondent and former municipal deputy, on its wanted list, Azar confirmed on Thursday.

Relatives of the dead passengers of the MN17 flight - on the decision of the International Civil Aviation Organization to recognize Russia as responsible for the disaster Chairs installed by members of the families of the victims of the MH17 flight disaster during the action by the Russian Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands, March 8, 2020.

Turkish police secure the area outside the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, 15 May 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/STRINGER Russia and Ukraine are set to meet for direct talks for the first time in three years in Istanbul on Friday, but hopes of a breakthrough are low after Russia sent a low-level delegation that Kyiv said showed it was “not serious” about peace.

American officials and media accused the former director of the FBI James Komi of calling for the murder of US President Donald Trump after he published a photo in which he posted the number 8647 from shells. Reuters writes about this. Screenshot: Instagram A photograph with shells, of which the number 8647 formed, Komi published yesterday on his Instagram.