Putin faces new ultimatum: meet Zelensky, or new weapons and sanctions 'incoming'

Day 1,174.

Today, we unpack a momentous weekend of diplomacy which began with the European leaders of Britain, Germany, France, and Poland assembling in Kyiv to demand an unconditional ceasefire, escalated with a late-night address from Vladimir Putin and fresh drone attacks, then culminated in a shock intervention from Donald Trump. Afterwards, we offer a detailed analysis on the strategic picture on the front lines.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Francis Farrell (Reporter, The Kyiv Independent). @francisjfarrell on X.

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Content Referenced:

Francis Farrell’s reporting for the Kyiv Independent: 

https://kyivindependent.com/author/francis-farrell/ 

Putin defies ceasefire demand with major drone barrage (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/12/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-latest-news/ 

Trump’s top negotiator accused of breaking protocol in talks with Putin (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/11/witkoff-used-kremlin-interpreter-breach-of-protocol/

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