Live, war in Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky announces he will "wait" for Vladimir Putin in Türkiye on May 15 and calls for a complete ceasefire as of Monday

In a statement released Sunday evening, stating that Emmanuel Macron had spoken during the day with his German, British and Polish counterparts, as well as with Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president, the Elysée Palace announced that "the President of the Republic insisted on the need for a ceasefire that will allow a Russian-Ukrainian meeting at the highest level to take place this Thursday."

Shortly after the US president's urgent message, Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his social media that Ukraine "expects a ceasefire starting tomorrow, complete and lasting, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy" and announced that he "will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey. Personally."

"I hope that this time the Russians will not look for reasons why they cannot do it," the Ukrainian president added about these potential direct negotiations between the two heads of state . The meeting between the two men would be a first since the beginning of the conflict three years ago.

Donald Trump had just urged Ukraine to "immediately" accept the meeting, proposed the day before by the Russian president . On Saturday, Vladimir Putin said he was ready "for negotiations without any preconditions" and proposed to begin discussions "as early as next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul." While dismissing the thirty-day truce proposal made by Kiev and its allies the same day.

Turkey, for its part, said on Sunday that it was willing to host these negotiations . The country is the only NATO member to continue talking to both Kyiv and Moscow. It had already hosted the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This meeting, the only one to date at this level, was not followed up. Since then, the two countries have held two "technical meetings" in Istanbul between their diplomats in February and April.

"Russian President Putin is not interested in reaching a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather in meeting in Turkey on Thursday to negotiate a possible end to the bloodshed. Ukraine should accept this agreement, immediately," the US president said on his Truth Social network on Sunday.

According to him, "at least they will be able to determine whether an agreement is possible or not, and if not, European leaders and the United States will know what to expect and will be able to act accordingly!"

In a rare attack on the Russian president and the first hint of "doubt" over the matter, Donald Trump went on to say that he was "beginning to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who is too busy celebrating the victory in World War II." He then urged the two countries, in capital letters: "Meet now!"

"Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will continue in Istanbul where they left off [in 2022]," the Turkish presidency said in a statement, adding that "Turkey is ready to host negotiations that would lead to a permanent solution" to the conflict.

On Saturday, May 10, Vladimir Putin said he was ready "for negotiations without any preconditions" and proposed to begin negotiations "next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul," specifying that he was to meet with his Turkish counterpart.

Earlier, Mr. Erdogan, who had spoken by telephone with President Emmanuel Macron, who had just returned from Kyiv, had spoken of a "historic turning point" to end the war in Ukraine and said that "this opportunity must be seized . " "Turkey is ready to provide all possible support, including by hosting negotiations, in order to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace," he insisted, according to the Turkish presidency. The services of the French presidency confirmed this meeting, during which Mr. Macron "reported on the work [on Saturday] in Kyiv" to Mr. Erdogan.

Turkey is the only NATO member to continue to speak with both Kyiv and Moscow. It hosted the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This meeting, the only one to date at this level, was not followed up. Since then, the two countries have held two "technical meetings" in Istanbul between their diplomats in February and April.

The shift is subtle, cautious, but clear: in his first Sunday prayer since his election, Pope Leo XIV hinted at a break with his Argentinian predecessor on the Ukrainian issue. The American pope spoke from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for the Regina Caeli on Sunday, May 11, and called on "the great and the mighty" to stop the war, whether in Gaza, between India and Pakistan, or even in Ukraine.

Regarding the latter, he called for "a genuine, just and lasting peace" , a phrase that contrasts with the tone used by Francis. In the name of total pacifism, the latter was more likely to call for immediate peace, and had asked Ukraine to have "the courage of the white flag" .

This semantics is close to that employed by Kyiv and its European allies, who argue that a simple halt to the fighting will solve nothing, while the US administration led by Donald Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept a peace deal on Moscow's terms, akin to outright capitulation.

Read the article by Benoît Vitkine, Le Monde 's special envoy to the Vatican.

"There is no point in continuing the killing for even one day. We expect Russia to confirm a complete, lasting, and reliable ceasefire starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet it," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media . "The whole world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step to truly ending a war is a ceasefire."

Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed a "positive sign" after Vladimir Putin assured yesterday Saturday that "Russia [was] ready for negotiations without any preconditions" proposing to "start next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul" , rejecting any possibility of establishing a thirty-day ceasefire demanded by Kiev's allies.

The Russian president "did not rule out" that the idea of ​​a ceasefire would be discussed during talks with Kiev, but he stressed that these discussions should focus on "the root causes of the conflict."

After the end of the three-day truce unilaterally declared by Moscow, which both countries accused each other of not respecting, "on the night of May 11 (from 2 a.m.), the enemy attacked with 108 Shahed attack drones and other types of drones," the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram , claiming that 60 of them had been shot down. "As a result of the enemy attack, the Sumy region suffered," it added.

"Forty-one imitator drones were lost on site, without negative consequences," the Ukrainian Air Force added, without detailing the fate of the remaining seven drones.

Donald Trump assured, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, that he intended to "continue to work with both parties" to end the conflict in Ukraine, welcoming "a potential great day" after Vladimir Putin's proposal of "direct" negotiations between Kiev and Moscow and the West's call for a ceasefire as of Monday.

"This is potentially a great day for Russia and Ukraine!" the US president wrote on his Truth Social account, without specifying what he was referring to, adding: "Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved with the hopefully end of this endless 'bloodbath'. (...) I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that happens."

The "direct" negotiations proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin between Russia and Ukraine, in response to the "unconditional" ceasefire demanded by Kiev and its allies, are "a first step, but it is not enough," Emmanuel Macron reacted.

"It's a way of not responding. We must not give up," added the French president upon his arrival at the Polish border early Sunday morning, after getting off the train returning from Ukraine. "We must stand firm with the Americans to say that the ceasefire is unconditional and then we can discuss the rest," he told a few journalists. The head of state considers that this is a new delaying tactic: "It shows that he is looking for a way forward, but he still wants to gain time." "It is unacceptable for the Ukrainians because they cannot accept parallel discussions while they continue to be bombed ," he considers. " It is a first step, but it is not enough."

You can find our previous live broadcast, covering the period from May 4 to 10, by clicking on this link .