05/16/2025May 16, 2025Putin made ‘mistake’ sending ‘low-level’ team to Ukraine talks: NATO chief
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin now “has to play ball.”
“All pressure is on him,” Rutte said at a meeting of EU leaders in Albania on Friday.
He added that Putin had made a mistake by sending what Rutte called a “low-level” delegation to talks with Ukraine in Turkey.
But it was good, Rutte said, that the Ukrainians have come to the table.
Putin was the one who proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine, however, the Russian president didn’t meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s challenge to meet in person.
Instead, Putin has sent a team of mid-ranking officials to the Istanbul talks.
Putin hasn’t traveled outside of Russia this year, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uT4a
05/16/2025May 16, 2025Ukraine loses third F-16 fighter jet, pilot rescued: Ukrainian air force
Ukraine lost an F-16 fighter jet early on Friday, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement on the Telegram messenger app.
The pilot ejected safely, it said, describing his condition as “satisfactory.”
The pilot was engaged in repelling a Russian aerial attack, according to the statement, when “an emergency situation arose on board.”
“The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected,” the air force said.
It didn’t provide details on the plane’s fate or the location of the likely crash site.
The crash is the probably the third involving the American-made F-16 since Ukraine began receiving the fighter jets from US allies in mid-2024.
Russia said it downed a plane in April 2025. Ukraine didn’t confirm that but said it lost a pilot during a combat mission.
In August 2024, Ukraine said a pilot died while repelling a major Russian air strike.
Ukraine hasn’t disclosed the number of aircraft it has received from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
In total, NATO members have committed around 65 F-16s since US President Joe Biden authorized European allies in August 2023 to send the fighter jets to Ukraine.
France also sent a batch of French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets in February 2025.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSlZ
05/16/2025May 16, 2025DW’s comprehensive list of broken ceasefires and agreements in the Ukraine war
Did you know there have been at least 8 short-term agreements and ceasefires since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 2022?
But none of them have seen lasting peace.
To help you get a better overview, DW has put together this list of ceasefires breakdowns between Russia and Ukraine since early 2022.
It also explains the pacts between Russia and Ukraine in the lead up to the war.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSjF
05/16/2025May 16, 2025Ukraine peace depends on direct Trump-Putin meeting: Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said only direct talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could bring about a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.
“Nothing is going to happen until President Trump sits across … from Vladimir Putin and … puts it on the table,” Rubio said on Thursday ahead of planned talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkey on Friday.
“I think that’s the only chance we have at peace at this point given everything we’ve seen over the last few weeks,” Rubio told Fox News, repeating comments he had made earlier in the day.
Trump made similar remarks on Thursday.
“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK?” Trump told journalists on the final day of his Middle East visit.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSib
05/16/2025May 16, 2025Guterres says Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the course of the possible peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
“A just peace means respecting the UN Charter, international law, and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This will not be easy,” Guterres told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
According to the UN chief, the principle of territorial integrity is of the utmost importance. “It is fundamental to peace and security in the world,” Guterres said, adding that if the principle of territorial integrity no longer applied, it would lead to an increase in conflicts.
Nevertheless, he observed the ongoing peace efforts with optimism. Guterres expressed confidence that a ceasefire could be reached without preconditions to create the basis for a just peace between Russia and Ukraine.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSTy
05/16/2025May 16, 2025UK’s Starmer says Putin ‘must pay the price for avoiding peace’
Ahead of a European Political Community meeting in Albania, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must pay the price for avoiding peace.”
“Putin’s tactics to dither and delay, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed across Ukraine, (are) intolerable,” Starmer said in a statement.
The European Political Community summit is taking place on the same day that talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are expected to begin in Turkey.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSS2
05/16/2025May 16, 2025No breakthrough is expected from Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul
Negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian envoys in Istanbul are expected to begin Friday morning.
Sources from Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told German news agency dpa that the first direct meeting between the two countries in three years is now set to take place with Turkish representatives present.
The ministry sources also said that trilateral talks are planned between the United States, Ukraine and Turkey, as well as between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
The US delegation is led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He told reporters that the United States “doesn’t have high expectations” for the Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told the Interfax news agency that his delegation expects the Ukrainian side at 10 a.m. (7:00 a.m. UST) and is ready for direct talks without preconditions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would not attend the talks in protest of his counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin, refusing to participate.
Zelenskyy said that Putin’s decision to send a “decorative” lineup instead of attending himself showed that the Russian leader was not serious about ending the war.
Russia accused Ukraine of trying “to put on a show” around the talks.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSRu
Low-profile talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to begin in Istanbul, Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proposed the talks, will not attend.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has already arrived in Turkey and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.
Zelenskyy confirmed that he will not take part in talks with Russian officials. Instead, he is sending a delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
DW will bring you the latest news, analysis and insight from our reporters and correspondents regarding Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Stay tuned for more.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uSRZ