Putin calls North Korean troops in Ukraine “heroic” in a letter to Kim Jong-un on Korea’s liberation anniversary, The Guardian.

He says they helped “liberate” Russia’s Kursk region from Ukrainian forces and frames it as proof of strong military ties. 1/ Russia'a Duma speaker Volodin delivered the letter to Kim in Pyongyang, thanked him for sending “excellent soldiers” to the Kursk operations.

He added that Russia would always remember the North Korean troops “who fought at the cost of their lives in Russia”. 2/

Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defenses near Dobropillya, advancing several miles deep — a rare gain in a war where Russia holds 20% of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said troops carried only handheld weapons, highlighting the unusual, lightly equipped assault, WSJ. 1/ Ukraine is counterattacking small Russian groups that breached its first defense line. Zelenskyy called the area “the most difficult” on the front, noting some Russians were killed or captured.

He said the push aims to show Russia advancing and Ukraine losing. 2/

Trump: Putin’s trying to set a stage [with more drone strikes on Ukraine].

In his mind, it helps him make a better deal if they can continue the killing. It actually hurts him. Maybe it's just his fabric or genes. 1/ Trump: Putin's bringing a lot of business people from Russia [to Alaska]. That's good.

I like that because they want to do business. But they won’t until we get the war settled. 2/

Trump: Tomorrow I meet Putin. More important is the second meeting—Putin, Zelenskyy, me, maybe some European leaders. We’ll see.

I think Putin will make peace, Zelenskyy will make peace. If they can get along, it’ll be great.

1/ Q: Will you offer Putin access to rare minerals to end the war?

Trump: We’ll see what happens. The meeting is big—important for Russia, important for us. For us, it matters because we’ll save a lot of lives. 2/

Bloomberg: Russia’s war economy is faltering just as Putin heads to Alaska to meet Trump on an Ukraine deal.

Oil revenues down, deficit at a 30-year high, inflation and interest rates surging, debt crisis warnings from inside Moscow.

1/ War spending will reach nearly $172B in 2025 (~8% of GDP), says Alexandra Prokopenko (Carnegie).

Most costs are hidden in bank balance sheets, with lenders forced to issue low-interest loans to defense firms regardless of profitability.

2/

Trump: I think Putin wants to get it done. I feel he wanted the whole thing. If it weren’t me, he would not talk to anybody. I believe now he’s convinced he’s going to make a deal, we’ll see in the meeting. 1/ Trump: Everything has an impact. I told India we’d charge them for buying Russian oil. They called to meet. Losing your second and first largest customers matters. He respects our country now. The market’s raging, companies moving back. Golden age of America. 2/

McFaul: Trump’s actions show no real strategy. He cut planned sanctions on India from 100% to 25%, delayed them, dropped China. His approach appeases Putin, pressures Ukraine, and has emboldened Putin to demand Ukraine leave land it still controls. 1/ McFaul: I see no sign Witkoff coordinates with others like envoy Kellogg. He flies to Moscow, treats Putin as a friend, acts more like a mailman than a negotiator, and may have even misunderstood Putin’s offer. The system needs tightening. 2/

INSANE!

The Telegraph: Trump will offer Putin access to rare earth minerals in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories to reach ceasefire.

US is also opening Alaska's natural resources to Russia and lifting aviation industry sanctions. 1/ Ukraine holds 10% of world's lithium reserves, with two largest deposits in Russian-occupied areas Putin has claimed.

Trump threatens Putin with "severe consequences" if he refuses peace deal at Friday's Anchorage meeting. 2/

NYT: Russia is suspected to be behind breach of the US federal court filing system.

CM/ECF has highly sensitive records that could reveal national security case details.

Hackers conducted a years-long infiltration effort to get cases with Russian surnames. 1/ Justice Department issued urgent memo warning that "persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records," advising immediate removal of most sensitive documents. 2/

Trump should make the return of Ukraine’s abducted children his non-negotiable first demand to test Putin’s commitment to peace. He claimed he could secure the return of 19,500+ children.

Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska is the ideal moment to press this issue, NYpost. 1/ The UN and European Court of Human Rights recognize Russia’s child abductions as war crimes.

Russia created an online “catalog” of kidnapped children sorted by age, eye color, siblings, and obedience. Mykola Kuleba called it “state-sponsored child trafficking”. 2/

Operation “Spider Web” [took down 34% of Russian strategic aviation] started one month late because the recruited Russian drivers got drunk during Easter, May holidays, and May 9th — Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Malyuk.

We couldn't reach anyone. All unavailable.

1/ Malyuk: Today, our country must transform into a steel porcupine.

This includes increasing the number of personnel, their training, boosting air defense, UAV systems, ground robotic complexes, and all possible counterintelligence measures.

2/

“Army is your prison” — Russian enlistment officer to forcibly mobilized Ukrainian from Kherson region.

Pshenichny: Russians "found" weed in my house, called it mine. Judge gave me 12.5 years, I signed some documents. After that military enlistment took me. 1/ Pshenichny: Russians don’t ask if you want to be assault troop — you have no choice.

One friend, who was also charged, chose army himself. I signed from sentence years, he chose army so he wouldn’t stay here. 2/

Q: Can you convince Putin to stop bombing people in Ukraine?

Trump: Pobably no.

I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I see a rocket hit a nursing home or apartment and people dead in the street. 1/ Trump: If the first meeting goes okay, we’ll have a second one, maybe immediately, with Putin, Zelenskyy, and me.

The first sets the table; the second could work it out. If I don’t get the answers we have to have, there may be no second meeting. 2/

Zelenskyy and EU leaders met Trump before his Alaska talks with Putin to set demands - Politico.

- No land talks before ceasefire
- No sanctions relief for Russia
- Russia must pay war damages ($500bn–$1tn)
- Ukraine joins NATO/EU
- Russia returns POWs and abducted children

1/ Kyiv’s first demand is a durable ceasefire before any land discussions.

Zelenskyy says giving up Donbas would dismantle key defences and open Russia’s path to Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv. Lithuanian FM Landsbergis calls NATO’s “de facto control” idea a betrayal. 2/

Merz: Ukraine is ready to negotiate on territorial issues, but starting from the current front line.

Zelenskyy: Trump will call me after his meeting with Putin and we will discuss all the results and deside our next joint steps.

1/ Zelenskyy: Today with Trump, we discussed the entire situation on the battlefield.

I said: Putin is bluffing. He is trying to put pressure on all sectors of the Ukrainian front ahead of the meeting in Alaska.

2/

US State Dept’s 2024 rights report names Russia top abuser for war crimes in Ukraine - Kyiv Post.

It confirms Russian forces:

- executed civilians, soldiers
- tortured POWs with beatings and electrocuting
- сarried out sexual violence
- deported Ukrainian children by force

1/ The report notes a spike in executions of Ukrainian POWs in 2024.

Witnesses describe Russian guards beating prisoners, raping them, using electrocution and mock executions, and punishing any movement or speech. 2/

Ukraine’s war is the first full-scale drone war in history - where $800 drones destroy $10M tanks and AI will decide who wins the next phase, says Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and now Chair of Relativity Space in Foreign Affairs.

1/ Drones now destroy 90% of Russian tanks and armored vehicles and cause 80% of Russian casualties.

A single first-person-view drone can kill a tank faster and cheaper than any anti-tank missile.

2/

The Eagle S dragged its anchor, damaging the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links on December 25, 2024.

Finland charged the captain and two senior officers of the Eagle S, a Russia-linked oil tanker, for damaging undersea cables between Finland and Estonia — AP. 1/ The charges include aggravated mischief and interference with communications, but the accused deny them.

The damage caused €60 million in repair costs and threatened Finland’s energy and telecom services, though alternatives secured them. 2/

Zelenskyy tells EU to block Trump plan giving Russia more land.

Per Telegraph, Zelenskyy’d freeze front at current lines—Russia keeps occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Crimea.

Kyiv/EU fear Alaska summit without Ukraine trades Donbas for a front freeze.

1/ Moscow’s idea: freeze lines if Kyiv withdraws from Donetsk/Luhansk it still holds. ISW says Putin’s aims unchanged—full capitulation. 2/

The U.S. now talks about the third Russian invasion

Graham: I’ll create pre-invasion sanctions to crush Russia if there’s a 3rd invasion.

This will prevent it, end the war honorably and justly.

No one better than Trump to meet Putin — he has a relationship with him. 1/ Graham: Trump negotiated a deal for over a $1T in Ukrainian minerals, with the US getting 50%.

He set up American business interests in Ukraine as deterrence. Europeans guarantee Ukraine’s security, so if Putin invades again, he faces a coalition — not just Ukraine. 2/

"Russians beat us every day with sticks, pipes, stun guns, and set dogs on us.

They didn't allowed us to sit, talk, or look out the window. A man in my cell weighed 30 kg and died".

Ukrainian marine Oleksandr Kirienko tells how Russians tortured him for 2 years in captivity. 1/ Oleksandr: Russians captured us in Mariupol. Then, transfered to Olenivka. Days later, they moved us to Tver, Russia, and tortured us there. 2/