Russian president Vladimir Putin has met Xi Jinping for the start of a summit in Beijing, just days after a similar visit by US president Donald Trump.
Putin and Xi will meet to discuss key international issues during talks over tea that officials characterised as an intimate tete-a-tete between "old friends".
Russia said it had "serious expectations" for the visit, and that it will include the signing of a 47-page document making various commitments about Russia-China relations.
After landing last night in China, Putin was greeted by foreign minister Wang Yi and an honour guard alongside Chinese youths waving China and Russia's national flags.
Earlier, China outright denied Xi had told Trump that Putin might come to regret invading Ukraine – reports that had threatened to overshadow the Russian leader's visit.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a reporter: “The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air.”
Key Points
- China's Xi told Trump that Putin might 'regret' invasion of Ukraine
- Putin leaves for China and says Moscow and Beijing ready to back each other
- Will Xi try and convince Putin to end Ukraine war?
- 40 documents, tea session: What to expect from Putin's meeting with Xi today
40 documents, tea session: What to expect from Putin's meeting with Xi today
04:03 , Arpan Rai
Russian president Vladimir Putin is accompanied by a delegation including deputy prime ministers, ministers and heads of state corporations and major banks.
Putin and Xi will likely seek to display the so-called "no limits" partnership between China and Russia as strengthened since the West imposed sanctions to punish Russia for the war in Ukraine.
- The Kremlin has set "serious expectations" for Putin's visit, which, alongside talks, will include a signing ceremony and a banquet followed by a tea where the two leaders will discuss key international issues in an informal setting.
- Some 40 documents are expected to be signed and a 47-page joint statement on their strengthening partnership will be issued, according to the Kremlin.
- Putin and Xi are also expected to adopt a joint declaration on establishing a multipolar world order and a "new type of international relations", a Kremlin aide said.
- Negotiations on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which is due to link Russia to northern China, are also likely to be on the cards, industry experts said.
- Energy supply shortages linked to the conflict in Iran may back Russia's case for the pipeline as a long-term gas source, but Beijing may want to stick to its supply diversification strategy.
Russia considers joint projects with US and China, says Kremlin official
03:56 , Arpan Rai
Russia is considering the possibility of joint projects with the United States and China, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, was quoted as saying by state media this morning.
In a few hours, Russian president Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, days after Xi had talks with US president Donald Trump.
"Within the framework of the Russian Direct Investment Fund we are also looking at certain projects, including those involving both China and the US", Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy and a key figure in talks between Moscow and Washington, said.
Ukraine is Europe's 'number one priority', says top EU military chief
03:00 , Alex Croft
The European Union’s top military general Sean Clancy has said that Ukraine remains its top priority on Tuesday.
“The extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ukrainian people has transformed Ukraine into a fortress nation,” Clancy told Euro News arguing that Ukraine’s security is now “integral to the future security of Europe.”
He said Ukraine remains the EU’s “number one priority”.
Watch: Moment Russia ‘attacks Chinese ship’ heading for Ukraine recorded on marine tracker
02:00 , Alex Croft
Russian lawmaker urges end to conflict as country cannot sustain war
01:01 , Alex Croft
Renat Suleimanov, a Russian lawmaker and state Duma representing the country’s Communist party has called for “the quickest possible end” to the country’s war with Ukraine.
“It is absolutely obvious that the economy will not withstand a prolonged continuation of the special military operation,” Suleimanov said to Kontinent using the Kremlin’s term for the war.
“Officially, 40 per cent of the federal budget is defense and security. What kind of development, investments, and capital expenditures can we talk about?”
He said that the war “has already lasted longer than the Great Patriotic War (World War II)“ and said that “the quickest possible end” to the conflict was “simply necessary.”
US remains committed to Poland, says Polish minister after Hegseth call
Wednesday 20 May 2026 00:01 , Alex Croft
The process of redeploying US military forces and assets in Europe is underway, but no decision has been made to reduce the US military capabilities in Poland, Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on Tuesday on X.
"The U.S. Secretary of War confirmed that the United States' commitment to Poland's defence and security remains unchanged," he also wrote after his conversation with Pete Hegseth.
Russia warns Latvia against letting Ukraine launch drones and draws sharp US rebuke
Tuesday 19 May 2026 23:01 , Alex Croft
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, on Tuesday said Moscow had information that Ukraine planned to launch military drones from Latvia and other Baltic states, warning that membership in NATO would not protect those countries from retaliation.
Nebenzya, speaking during a UN Security Council meeting on security in Ukraine, claimed Kyiv had already dispatched Ukrainian drone forces to Latvia.
Latvia's envoy to the Security Council, Sanita Pavluta-Deslandes, immediately rejected the remarks as "pure fiction." Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the UN, warned that the UN was "no place for threats against a council member" and said the U.S. would keep all its NATO commitments.
Analysis: Putin let his desperation show with unexpected claim his war with Ukraine is ending
Tuesday 19 May 2026 22:00 , Maira Butt
Pausing, turning and pointing, like hounds catching a new scent, Europe’s leaders are picking up a blood trail from the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s forces were once the hunters – now they are bleeding and Ukraine has the whiff of victory in its nose.
In the latest sign that Ukraine’s systematic new policy of trying to kill at least 50,000 Russians a month is working, Putin has told his people that the end of the war he started is near.
And, in an act that was both desperate and doomed, he suggested that Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, could act as Europe’s envoy in talks.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Putin let his desperation show with unexpected claim his war with Ukraine is ending
Russia begins massive nuclear drills involving missiles and submarines as Putin visits China
Tuesday 19 May 2026 20:00 , Maira Butt
Russia has begun massive manoeuvres of its nuclear forces, including practice launches of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles, following a surge in Ukrainian drone strikes.
The three-day exercise will involve 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface warships and 13 submarines, including eight armed with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Defence Ministry said.
According to the ministry, the drills will focus on the "preparation and use of nuclear forces under the threat of aggression."
James C Reynolds reports:
Putin begins massive nuclear drills involving missiles and submarines
Russians realise they aren’t safe as Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow bring war close to home
Tuesday 19 May 2026 19:00 , Maira Butt
It’s getting harder for officials in the Kremlin to cast the war in Ukraine – now in its fifth year – as something so distant that it doesn’t affect the daily routines of Russian civilians.
From irritating internet disruptions to this month’s scaled-down Victory Day parade and a massive weekend aerial attack in the Moscow region that killed three people, Russia’s full-scale war no longer seems a distant conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast the attack in Moscow’s suburbs as a just retribution for the relentless and deadly Russian missile and drone strikes on the capital of Kyiv and other cities last week.
Read the full story below
Russians realise they aren’t safe after Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow
China says report that Xi said Putin would regret invasion is ‘completely fabricated out of thin air’
Tuesday 19 May 2026 18:00 , Maira Butt
China has said claims that Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin could come to regret invading Ukraine during their summit are “completely fabricated”, as the Russian leader arrived in Beijing.
Xi is reported to have made the remarks during wide-ranging talks between the US and Chinese delegations in the capital last week, according to the Financial Times.
“The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Tuesday.
China says report that Xi said Putin would regret invasion is ‘completely fabricated’
Putin arrives in Beijing for summit with Xi, says Chinese state media
Tuesday 19 May 2026 16:51 , Maira Butt
Russian president Vladimir Putin has touched down in Beijing for a two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to Chinese state media.
Putin arrives in Beijing for summit with Xi, says Chinese state media
Tuesday 19 May 2026 16:50 , Maira Butt
Russian president Vladimir Putin has touched down in Beijing for a two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to Chinese state media.
Ukraine is Europe's 'number one priority', says top EU military chief
Tuesday 19 May 2026 16:30 , Maira Butt
The European Union’s top military general Sean Clancy has said that Ukraine remains its top priority on Tuesday.
“The extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ukrainian people has transformed Ukraine into a fortress nation,” Clancy told Euro News arguing that Ukraine’s security is now “integral to the future security of Europe.”
He said Ukraine remains the EU’s “number one priority”.
Nato confirms fighter jets shot down drone over Estonian airspace
Tuesday 19 May 2026 16:05 , Maira Butt
Nato has confirmed that Romanian F16 fighter jets from Nato’s Baltic Air policing mission in Lithuania shot down a drone over Estonian airspace on Tuesday.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing as Nato added that Nato is “ready and able to react to any potential air threats”.
US troop withdrawal will not undermine Nato defence plans in Europe
Tuesday 19 May 2026 15:40 , Maira Butt
Nato's top commander Alexus Grynkewich has said that a US decision to withdraw an armoured brigade, or a total of 5,000 troops, from Europe will not undermine the alliance's defence plans in the region.
Grynkewich, speaking in Brussels on Tuesday where he met with military chiefs from Nato countries, added that European allies and Canada are taking more responsibility for the conventional defence in Europe with continued backing from the US capabilities, which are being adjusted.
Full story: Xi reportedly told Trump that Putin might ‘regret’ invading Ukraine during summit in Beijing
Tuesday 19 May 2026 15:10 , Maira Butt
Chinese president Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin could come to regret invading Ukraine, according to a new report, as the Russian leader prepared to meet his Chinese counterpart for talks in Beijing.
Xi is reported to have made the remarks during wide-ranging talks between the US and Chinese delegations in Beijing, according to several people familiar with the US assessment of the summit, the Financial Times reported.
Putin’s two-day visit comes less than a week after the US leader’s high-profile attendance and is his 25th to China.
Read the full story below.
Xi ‘told Trump that Putin might regret invading Ukraine during summit in Beijing’
Risks of direct Russia-NATO clash are increasing, senior Russian diplomat says
Tuesday 19 May 2026 14:40 , Maira Butt
A senior Russian diplomat has warned that the risks of a direct clash between Russia and the Nato military alliance are increasing and said that the consequences could be catastrophic.
Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was a growing narrative in European capitals about the “looming threat of a high-intensity war” with Russia, in an interview with the TASS state news agency on Tuesday.
“As a result of this escalation of tensions, including blatantly provocative actions in the nuclear sphere, strategic risks are mounting, as is the danger of a head-on clash between Nato and our country, with all the potentially catastrophic consequences that would entail,” Ryabkov told TASS.
In pictures: Aftermath of another Russian drone strike as funerals for victims of previous strike take place
Tuesday 19 May 2026 14:15 , Maira Butt
How Ukraine’s new drone tactics are causing chaos for the Russian army
Tuesday 19 May 2026 13:50 , Maira Butt
Ukraine's strategic deployment of medium-range drones is inflicting significant damage on Russia's struggling war effort, experts have said as Moscow’s ground offensive stalls.
By targeting Russian air defences and logistics dozens of kilometres behind front lines, Ukraine is disrupting Russia's battlefield advances and opening the way for long-range strikes on Russian oil and military facilities, Ukrainian officials say.
More resources have in recent months been poured into "middle strikes", typically ranging between 30 km (19 miles) and 180 km behind front lines.
Read the full story below.
How Ukraine’s new drone tactics are causing chaos for the Russian army
Russian lawmaker urges end to conflict as country cannot sustain war
Tuesday 19 May 2026 13:25 , Maira Butt
Renat Suleimanov, a Russian lawmaker and state Duma representing the country’s Communist party has called for “the quickest possible end” to the country’s war with Ukraine.
“It is absolutely obvious that the economy will not withstand a prolonged continuation of the special military operation,” Suleimanov said to Kontinent using the Kremlin’s term for the war.
“Officially, 40 per cent of the federal budget is defense and security. What kind of development, investments, and capital expenditures can we talk about?”
He said that the war “has already lasted longer than the Great Patriotic War (World War II)“ and said that “the quickest possible end” to the conflict was “simply necessary.”
Ukraine warns Putin could announce mass recruitment after elections
Tuesday 19 May 2026 12:54 , Maira Butt
As Russia suffers heavy battlefield losses, Ukraine has predicted that Russia could announce a nationwide mobilisation effort following the forthcoming state Duma elections.
Asked whether Russia could move to a mass recruitment drive after the elections, Brigadier General Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, told Ukraine’s 24 Kanal broadcaster: “Quite possibly. We do not exclude such a development.”
Stray Ukrainian drone in Estonia shot down by Nato fighter jet
Tuesday 19 May 2026 12:28 , Maira Butt
A Nato military jet shot down a drone of apparent Ukrainian origin over Estonia on Tuesday, the Baltic nation's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Delfi news website.
The incident marks the latest in a series of airspace violations in the region bordering Russia.
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said a Romanian fighter jet shot down the drone that entered Estonian airspace was most likely a stray Ukrainian drone and confirmed it was not directed against Estonia.
Pevkur added that officials are currently conducting a search for the drone and need to ensure it poses no threat to anyone.
Pevkur told local media: "We received advance information from our Latvian colleagues, and our radar also detected a drone moving into southern Estonia.”
Stray drone shot down by Nato fighter jet
China denies comment that Putin would 'regret' Ukraine invasion
Tuesday 19 May 2026 12:04 , Maira Butt
China has denied a claim reported by the Financial Times that president Xi Jinping said that Vladimir Putin would regret his invasion of Ukraine during wide-ranging talks with President Donald Trump during his visit to Beijing last week.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a reporter: “The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air.”
In pictures: Putin lands in Beijing for two-day summit with close ally
Tuesday 19 May 2026 11:55 , Maira Butt
Ukraine's GDP grows by 0.9% in April, PM says
Tuesday 19 May 2026 11:36 , Maira Butt
Ukraine's economy returned to growth in April after a decline in the first quarter of the year, with gross domestic product up by 0.9 per cent, driven by retail, the food sector, and weapons production, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday.
She said that GDP growth in April had helped mitigate the contraction in the previous months of the year. GDP slipped by 0.2 per cent in the first four months of the year. In the first quarter of 2026, GDP shrank by 0.5 per cent year-on-year, data showed.
Breaking: Nato military jet shoots down drone of apparent Ukrainian origin in Estonia
Tuesday 19 May 2026 11:06 , Maira Butt
A Nato military jet has shot down a drone of apparent Ukrainian origin in Estonia, defence minister Hanno Pevkur has told the Estonian Delfi news website.
Analysis: Putin let his desperation show with unexpected claim his war with Ukraine is ending
Tuesday 19 May 2026 10:13 , Maira Butt
Pausing, turning and pointing, like hounds catching a new scent, Europe’s leaders are picking up a blood trail from the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s forces were once the hunters – now they are bleeding and Ukraine has the whiff of victory in its nose.
In the latest sign that Ukraine’s systematic new policy of trying to kill at least 50,000 Russians a month is working, Putin has told his people that the end of the war he started is near.
And, in an act that was both desperate and doomed, he suggested that Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, could act as Europe’s envoy in talks.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Putin let his desperation show with unexpected claim his war with Ukraine is ending
In pictures: Aftermath of Russian drone attack on Kharkiv
Tuesday 19 May 2026 09:49 , Maira Butt
Russians realise they aren’t safe as Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow bring war close to home
Tuesday 19 May 2026 09:15 , Maira Butt
It’s getting harder for officials in the Kremlin to cast the war in Ukraine — now in its fifth year — as something so distant that it doesn’t affect the daily routines of Russian civilians.
From irritating internet disruptions to this month’s scaled-down Victory Day parade and a massive weekend aerial attack in the Moscow region that killed three people, Russia’s full-scale war no longer seems a distant conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast the attack in Moscow's suburbs as a just retribution for the relentless and deadly Russian missile and drone strikes on the capital of Kyiv and other cities last week.
All these assaults have come only days after President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump both suggested that the war in Ukraine was nearing its end.
Russians realise they aren’t safe after Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow
Watch: Moment Russia ‘attacks Chinese ship’ heading for Ukraine recorded on marine tracker
Tuesday 19 May 2026 08:58 , Maira Butt
Russian drones hit Naftogaz gas infrastructure facilities in Ukraine's north, company says
Tuesday 19 May 2026 08:27 , Maira Butt
Russian drones have attacked several gas infrastructure facilities in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region early on Tuesday, Naftogaz, the country’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz said.
The strikes at production facilities caused damage to critical infrastructure equipment, CEO Serhiy Koretskyi said.
They marked a third day in a row of attacks, Naftogaz added.
Turkey has potential to influence Ukraine and Iran wars, German minister says
Tuesday 19 May 2026 08:00 , Arpan Rai
Turkey can exert influence over the wars in Ukraine and Iran, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday, adding the European Union and Ankara should strengthen strategic ties.
“If Turkey wishes to join the European Union, it will find a friendly and reliable partner in Germany," Wadephul said. However, in order to join the union, Turkey must meet all the criteria, he added.
"Turkey has the potential to exert considerable influence on these trouble spots, not only because of its geographical proximity, but also because of its enormous political and economic significance," Wadephul told reporters at a press conference with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Berlin.
It was desirable to keep strengthening strategic relations between Turkey and the European Union, he added, with Germany advocating that Turkey be considered in the development of the EU's defence and industrial policies.
In photos: Russia unleashes aerial barrage on Ukraine's Kharkiv and Odesa overnight
Tuesday 19 May 2026 07:44 , Arpan Rai
Russia says it will conduct drills of nuclear forces starting today
Tuesday 19 May 2026 07:40 , Arpan Rai
Russia's armed forces will conduct exercises of its nuclear forces from 19 May to 21 May, the defence ministry announced this morning.
More than 64,000 personnel and 7,800 pieces of military equipment will be involved in the drills, which will see ballistic and cruise missiles launched from test sites on Russian territory, the ministry said.
China's Xi told Trump that Putin might 'regret' invasion of Ukraine
Tuesday 19 May 2026 07:35 , Arpan Rai
Chinese president Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump that Russian leader Vladimir Putin might come to regret invading smaller neighbour Ukraine during their talks last week, according to the Financial Times.
Several people familiar with the US assessment of last week’s summit in Beijing said Xi made the remarks when the US and Chinese delegations held wide-ranging talks on Ukraine and Trump suggested that the three leaders should co-operate against the International Criminal Court.
One person aware of the Chinese president’s meeting with former US president Joe Biden said that while the leaders did hold “frank and direct” conversations on Russia and Ukraine, Xi had not previously offered such an assessment of Putin and his war on Ukraine.
Will Xi try and convince Putin to end Ukraine war?
Tuesday 19 May 2026 07:20 , Arpan Rai
As Vladimir Putin jets out of Moscow to meet his ally Chinese president Xi Jinping, experts have said there is little the leader in Beijing will do to end the war in Ukraine.
While China presents itself as a peace mediator in the conflict and a neutral party, Putin says China and Russia support each other's "core interests" as he pursues additional energy deals with the world's second-largest economy in the face of Western sanctions.
"It's unrealistic to expect Xi to put pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Xi doesn't wield that kind of influence over Putin and in any case the Chinese understand how a defeat for Russia in Ukraine would weaken Putin's political standing," says Ian Storey, principal fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
At the same time, China's engagement with countries such as Russia also reinforces its message that its diplomacy is consistent and not swayed by the actions of strategic partners, despite Western pressure.
"As such, Beijing will continue to provide Moscow with diplomatic cover at the UN, economic assistance and dual-use technologies for Russia's armed forces," he said.
China says it has never provided lethal weapons to either side of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that it strictly controls exports of dual-use items.
The two-day talks, however, will amplify what Xi and Putin want the rest of the world to see – a tight bond between the autocrats.
"The Xi-Putin summit will telegraph to the world that the China-Russia strategic partnership remains the cornerstone of both countries' foreign policies and that any attempt by the US to drive a wedge between them is destined to fail," Storey said.
Russia has 'serious expectations' for Putin's trip to China, says Kremlin
Tuesday 19 May 2026 07:00 , Arpan Rai
Russia has "very serious expectations" for president Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The two sides will use it to develop their privileged partnership, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, arriving just days after Donald Trump departed the Chinese capital.
The Russian delegation will include relevant deputy prime ministers, government ministers and company heads, Peskov told reporters.
Moscow says Ukraine peace process is paused
Tuesday 19 May 2026 06:40 , Arpan Rai
Moscow expects the Russia-Ukraine peace process to be resumed but it is currently paused, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Donald Trump that deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine could set back peace efforts.
Trump suggested to reporters on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to reach peace in the four-year conflict.
Peskov said attention should be paid to ongoing strikes by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia. Moscow faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the capital.
Turkey has potential to influence Ukraine and Iran wars, German minister says
Tuesday 19 May 2026 06:57 , Arpan Rai
Turkey can exert influence over the wars in Ukraine and Iran, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday, adding the European Union and Ankara should strengthen strategic ties.
"If Turkey wishes to join the European Union, it will find a friendly and reliable partner in Germany," Wadephul said. However, in order to join the union, Turkey must meet all the criteria, he added.
"Turkey has the potential to exert considerable influence on these trouble spots, not only because of its geographical proximity, but also because of its enormous political and economic significance," Wadephul told reporters at a press conference with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Berlin.
It was desirable to keep strengthening strategic relations between Turkey and the European Union, he added, with Germany advocating that Turkey be considered in the development of the EU's defence and industrial policies.
Watch: Putin heads to China summit just days after Xi and Trump meeting
Tuesday 19 May 2026 06:25 , Arpan Rai
Belarus launches joint drills with Russia to practise nuclear weapons use
Tuesday 19 May 2026 06:13 , Arpan Rai
Belarus said on Monday it launched joint drills with Russia to practice the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has deployed on the territory of its neighbour and ally.
Belarus' authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has allowed Russia to deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons to his country. In December, Russia also announced that its latest intermediate range nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system entered service in Belarus, which borders Ukraine and Nato members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
The Belarusian defence ministry said that the drills will involve missile units and warplanes.
“During the exercise, in cooperation with the Russian side, it is planned to practise the delivery of nuclear weapons and preparations for their use,” the ministry said in a statement. It said the drills will focus on training forces to move covertly across large distances.
It said the manoeuvres had been planned in advance and weren’t aimed against any third countries.
Russia attacks Ukraine's Danube port city
Tuesday 19 May 2026 05:59 , Arpan Rai
A Russian air attack damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine's Izmail city in the early hours today, while Russian authorities said they had downed four drones launched by Ukraine that were headed towards Moscow.
Izmail, home to the largest Ukrainian port on the Danube River, is a frequently hit strategic location.
"Port infrastructure facilities in the city of Izmail were damaged," local officials said on Telegram, adding that nearly all aerial attack weapons were destroyed.
"Fortunately, there were no casualties or significant destruction."
The Telegram post showed firemen battling a fire at a building that had had its windows blown out.
British soldier jailed by Russia for fighting in Ukraine says he feels abandoned
Tuesday 19 May 2026 05:45 , Arpan Rai
A former British soldier who was captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine and has been jailed for 15 years says he feels abandoned by the UK government.
Hayden Davies, 30, was accused by Moscow of being a “paid mercenary” who fought in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where fierce fighting continues.
He was arrested more than 18 months ago after joining the Ukrainian army’s foreign legion as a volunteer.
He has shared details of his loneliness and harsh treatment in a Russian maximum security prison with the BBC, adding that he has not been contacted by representatives of the UK government.
"I served my country for 12 years in the [British] Army, and now, when I need help and medical treatment, no-one wants to know. This is a disgrace!” he told the BBC.
However, a UK Foreign Office (FCDO) spokesperson told the BBC: "We remain in close contact with Hayden Davies' family and are providing consular support. We strongly condemn the sentencing of Mr Davies in a Russian-controlled court on false charges of mercenaryism."
Putin leaves for China and says Moscow and Beijing ready to back each other
Tuesday 19 May 2026 05:32 , Arpan Rai
Russia and China are ready to support each other on a wide range of issues, including national unity and protection of sovereignty, president Vladimir Putin said in a video address ahead of a visit to China starting today.
Putin said the relations between Russia and China have reached an "unprecedented level" of mutual understanding and trust, as he prepared to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping for talks.
The countries are ready to cooperate on mutually beneficial and equality-based principles and "to support each other on issues affecting the core interests of the two countries, including the protection of sovereignty and national unity", Putin said. He did not provide any further details.
Russia and China are actively expanding ties in economy, politics and defence, he said, adding that "a close" and "strategic" connection between Moscow and Beijing was playing "a stabilising role" in global relations.
"We are not aligning against anyone, but working for the cause of peace and universal prosperity," Putin said.
Russia's long-range strikes on Ukraine continue as dozens injured
Tuesday 19 May 2026 04:36 , Arpan Rai
Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine in its nighttime drone and missile barrage yesterday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said as local authorities reported that the strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children.
Russian forces fired 524 attack drones and 22 ballistic and cruise missiles, Zelensky said.
The city of Dnipro and the surrounding central region of Ukraine bore the brunt of the attack, officials said.
The barrage continued a recent spiral of long-range strikes that have grown in scale following a 9-11 May ceasefire that US president Donald Trump said he asked Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin to observe but which had little impact.
There is no sign a peace deal is taking shape despite US diplomatic efforts to end Russia's invasion.
Russia hammered Ukraine over several days last week, flattening a Kyiv apartment building where 24 people died.
Russia's Yaroslavl region under drone attack, governor warns
Tuesday 19 May 2026 04:22 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, governor Mikhail Yevrayev said this morning.
He asked drivers in the area to steer away from the capital or use alternative routes to avoid coming under attack or falling debris.
Russia downed a number of Ukraine drones heading towards Moscow, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram yesterday.
China's Xi told Trump that Putin might 'regret' invasion of Ukraine
Tuesday 19 May 2026 04:09 , Arpan Rai
Chinese president Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump that Russian leader Vladimir Putin might come to regret invading smaller neighbour Ukraine during their talks last week, according to the Financial Times.
Several people familiar with the US assessment of last week’s summit in Beijing said Xi made the remarks when the US and Chinese delegations held wide-ranging talks on Ukraine and Trump suggested that the three leaders should co-operate against the International Criminal Court.
One person aware of the Chinese president’s meeting with former US president Joe Biden said that while the leaders did hold “frank and direct” conversations on Russia and Ukraine, Xi had not previously offered such an assessment of Putin and his war on Ukraine.
Unclear why Russians attacked Chinese vessel, says Ukraine navy spokesperson
Tuesday 19 May 2026 03:00 , Alex Croft
As we’ve been reporting, a Russian drone attacked a Chinese-owned cargo ship that was headed for a Ukrainian port, according to Reuters.
We’ve now heard from a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, who says it is unclear why Russian forces launched this attack in the Black Sea.
"It is unclear what the Russians were thinking when they struck a Chinese merchant vessel in our sea last night with a Shahed drone,” Dmytro Pletenchuk writes in a post on Facebook.
He questioned whether the strike was a “monstrous mistake”.
Moscow says Ukraine peace process can resume
Tuesday 19 May 2026 02:01 , Alex Croft
Moscow expects the Russia-Ukraine peace process to be resumed but it is currently paused, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Donald Trump that deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine could set back peace efforts.
Trump suggested to reporters on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to reach peace in the four-year conflict.
Peskov said attention should be paid to ongoing strikes by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia. Moscow faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the capital.
Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
Tuesday 19 May 2026 01:02 , Alex Croft
Like many Ukrainians, Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov.
Homeniuk and Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital, were among the 24 people killed Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes that Ukrainian military officials described as the biggest barrage of the war. A cruise missile flattened their apartment building.
On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.
“She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych said.
Read more here:
Kyiv couple killed in Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
Russia has 'serious expectations' for Putin's trip to China, says Kremlin
Tuesday 19 May 2026 00:01 , Alex Croft
Russia has "very serious expectations" for president Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The two sides will use it to develop their privileged partnership, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, arriving just days after Donald Trump departed the Chinese capital.
The Russian delegation will include relevant deputy prime ministers, government ministers and company heads, Peskov told reporters.
Russian drone hits civilian vessel under Guinea-Bissau flag, says Kyiv
Monday 18 May 2026 23:00 , Alex Croft
A Russian drone hit a civilian vessel under a Guinea-Bissau flag that was heading to Ukraine's port hub of Greater Odesa, the Ukrainian seaport authority has said.
A small fire broke out on the vessel, which the crew quickly extinguished, it said on Monday.
According to preliminary information, no one was injured in the attack and the vessel resumed its journey, it added.
In pictures: Nato holds biggest special forces exercise in Europe
Monday 18 May 2026 22:01 , Alex Croft
Kyiv condemns nuclear weapons drills in Belarus
Monday 18 May 2026 21:01 , Alex Croft
Kyiv has condemned nuclear weapons drills in Belarus, saying that deployment of tactical weapons in the country constituted an "unprecedented challenge" to global security.
"By turning Belarus into its nuclear staging ground near Nato borders, the Kremlin is de facto legitimising the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide and setting a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Kyiv also urged its Western allies to tighten sanctions against Moscow and Minsk: "Such actions must face unequivocal and resolute condemnation from all states that respect the nuclear non-proliferation regime."
Explosives found near crash site of suspected Ukrainian drone in Lithuania
Monday 18 May 2026 20:00 , Alex Croft
Explosives have been found near the debris of a suspected Ukrainian military drone that crashed in Lithuania, and they will be disposed of through an explosion at the scene as the materials are too dangerous to remove, Lithuanian police said.
The drone was not detected when it entered Lithuania, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, chief of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, told reporters on Sunday.
It was found crashed in the village of Samane, the centre said, which is 40 km (25 miles) from the Latvian border and 55 km from Belarus. Kyiv has not yet commented on the issue.
Separately, the Latvian army said a drone alert was issued on Sunday morning along its border with Russia.
One drone entered Latvia for a short time during the alert, the army said.
With Reuters
US companies involved in Russian attempts to export grain from occupied Crimea - Zelensky
Monday 18 May 2026 19:01 , Alex Croft
Ukraine has observed attempts by Russia to export grain from the occupied Crimea region which involved companies from the United States, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
"In particular, we have recorded attempts to organise the export of grain from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea – and, regrettably, other forms of economic exploitation of the peninsula involving entities from the United States," he said on X.
Mr Zelensky said Moscow was also trying to bring investment from "democratic countries" into Russia's Arctic oil and gas projects.
Our Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has obtained new Russian documents assessing the aggressor state’s losses from the war. Importantly, this is specifically a Russian internal assessment – one they are trying to conceal both from the world and from their own domestic… pic.twitter.com/renq7JzwQN
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2026
Europe-US unity must survive 'difficult period', says Polish PM
Monday 18 May 2026 17:59 , Alex Croft
Transatlantic unity between Washington and Europe must survive a difficult moment in history, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Monday.
Mr Tusk was stressing the importance of Warsaw's ties to Washington after the Pentagon cancelled plans to deploy 4,000 US-based troops to Poland.
"The task of all of us here in Poland, in Europe, across the Atlantic, in the US, in Canada, is to ensure that transatlantic cooperation, regardless of various political variables, survives this difficult period," Mr Tusk told reporters.
Report: Putin to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping days after Trump's trip to Beijing
Monday 18 May 2026 16:58 , Alex Croft
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.
Read more here:
Putin to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping days after Trump's trip to Beijing
Situation at Zaporizhzhia power plant reaching 'point of no return' -Russian nuclear chief
Monday 18 May 2026 16:26 , Alex Croft
The situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine is rapidly reaching the "point of no return", the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom was quoted as saying by Russian state news agencies on Monday.
Alexei Likhachev laid the blame for the situation on Ukrainian attacks - although Russian forces have occupied Europe’s largest power plant since 2022.
Mr Likhachev said there was approximately 2,600 tonnes of nuclear fuel still at the plant, which is under Russian control, according to the TASS state news agency.
Ukrainian finance minister demands more sanctions against Russia
Monday 18 May 2026 15:54 , Alex Croft
Ukraine's finance minister Serhii Marchenko said there was a need to increase sanctions against Russia, at the meeting of G7 ministers in Paris on Monday.
He expects the first disbursement to Ukraine from a previously agreed 90 billion euros (£78billion) EU loan in the beginning of June.
"We are finalising all necessary agreements. Probably it will be at the beginning of June," Marchenko told reporters.
"We need to continue to pressure Russia, to put additional sanctions on Russia," he added.
G7 ministers' meeting to discuss conflicts in Ukraine and Iran
Monday 18 May 2026 15:21 , Alex Croft
European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday that the G7 finance ministers' meeting would discuss the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, and he reaffirmed the need to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.
The meetings are currently underway in Paris - here are some images:
Russia launches 524 drones and 22 missiles overnight - Kyiv
Monday 18 May 2026 14:50 , Alex Croft
Russia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said on Monday.
Air defence units shot down or neutralised 503 drones and four missiles, the air force said in a post on Telegram.
It said that the main target of the attack was the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region.
Dozens of people have been injured, Ukrainian authorities added.
