Russia After ceasefire: Moscow expects US mediator "soon"
Following the US mediation of a three-day ceasefire, the Kremlin now also expects negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine to resume soon.
10.05.2026, 15:31
SDA
US negotiator Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will return to Moscow for talks "fairly soon", the Kremlin representative responsible for the negotiations, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state television. He did not give a date.
Ushakov explained that the ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev, which is still in place until this Monday, had been achieved through two days of "not easy" telephone contacts with the US side. Witkoff and Kushner had led the negotiations between the warring parties on several occasions. However, they came to a standstill and there was no breakthrough.
The US mediators were also preoccupied with the war in the Middle East, said Ushakov. He once again made it clear that Russia was prepared to end the war if Ukraine withdrew its armed forces from the Donbass. "They know in Ukraine that they have to do this - and they will do it sooner or later anyway," said Ushakov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had always categorically rejected Moscow's condition. The main issue here is the Donetsk region, which Russia has occupied for the most part. Moscow's troops have not yet succeeded in advancing into strategically important cities for Kiev such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Selensky rejects the Kremlin's demand to surrender the cities without a fight.
Further reports of ceasefire violations
The warring parties continue to report mass violations of the three-day ceasefire announced by Trump on Friday. However, military observers emphasize that the situation is much calmer overall. In particular, the usual attacks on energy facilities deep in the hinterland were absent. The information provided by the warring parties can hardly be independently verified.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on Sunday that there had been more than 16,000 violations of the ceasefire so far. This also includes individual shootings. In addition, 57 Ukrainian drones had been shot down. The Ukrainian General Staff, on the other hand, spoke of more than 150 attacks from the Russian side. Kiev's air force counted 27 attacks with Russian drones that had been shot down.
In Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, a drone hit a block of flats, according to the authorities. Five people were injured, including two children, it said.
