In his latest attempt to edge towards a ceasefire, Donald Trump will call Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. He’s hopeful of a productive day, but there are fears in Kyiv over what the outcome could be. Follow the latest below.
Monday 19 May 2025 11:24, UK
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Global human rights charity Amnesty International has been accused of “Russophobia” by Russia’s prosecutor general.
The group highlights human rights abuses around the world and has been critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and domestic crackdown.
Rights groups consistently rank Russia as among the most repressive countries in the world.
In a report from the prosecutor general’s office, Russia has now said Amnesty “positions itself as an active conductor of human rights protection in the world”, in comments cited by news agency Interfax.
“In reality, the London headquarters of AIL [Amnesty International Limited] is the centre for preparing global Russophobic projects paid for by accomplices of the [Kyiv] regime,” it added, also describing the charity as an “undesirable organisation”.
At least two people have been killed and another 13 injured over the past day in Ukraine, according to authorities (see 10.05).
These pictures from Kherson and Donetsk, released by emergency services, show debris and damage after reported Russian attacks.
A little information now from Moscow to bring you now, ahead of Donald Trump’s call with Vladimir Putin.
They will speak at 3pm (UK time), which is 5pm in Moscow and 10am in Washington DC, the Kremlin has said.
RIA news agency cited spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said the two leaders will take into account the results of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul last week.
In the same briefing with reporters, TASS reports the Kremlin said the Romanian election’s conduct had been “strange, to say the least”.
See our post at 7.28 for more on why that vote provided unexpected good news for Ukraine.
Russia’s security service has arrested nine people it said are linked to planned attacks on Victory Day.
The annual celebrations on 9 May – marking the Soviet Union’s role in Nazi Germany’s defeat – were particularly significant this year, on the 80th anniversary.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was among a series of world leaders invited for those events, despite concerns Ukraine would attempt to strike Moscow on the day.
Now, the FSB has said a “series of terrorist crimes” were prevented in Stavropol, a city in southwest Russia, where the nine people have been detained.
Eight of them are teenagers, according to a statement cited by state news agencies, and all were “followers of an international terrorist organisation”.
TASS reported teenagers have been interrogated over alleged preparations to attack police officers. One of them has pleaded guilty, it added.
Watch: Xi joined Putin for Victory Day celebrations
Ukraine’s air force has reported Russia launched 112 drones overnight over various parts of the country.
It added 76 of those were downed – mostly after being shot down, but nearly half by electronic jamming.
It’s not clear what happened to the remaining 36.
Local governors across Ukraine reported two people have been killed in the past 24 hours, with another 13 injured.
In Kherson, the regional administrative district said two people have been killed and six injured.
Another three were hurt in Kharkiv, according to the region’s governor Oleg Synegubov.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk, said two people were injured there, while authorities in Sumy reported the same number were hurt in the northern region.
Zaporizhia and Dnipro have also been struck over the past day, authorities said, but no casualties have been reported.
Following an announcement from the EU over defence funding – see the post below – Finland has separately revealed other plans to safeguard against Russia.
The Nordic country has said it will supply ammunition to Ukraine using proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
“Finland has been selected as one of the states implementing European Union measures to supply Ukraine with defence materiel using proceeds from frozen Russian assets,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Finnish suppliers will provide the ammunition, which is valued at €90m million euro (£75m), it added.
Countries in the EU have agreed on plans for a €150bn (£126bn) fund to boost Europe’s defence, a diplomat has said this morning.
Known as Security Action for Europe – or SAFE – the fund will be financed through joint borrowing and give loans to EU members and certain other states, such as Ukraine.
JD Vance and Pope Leo met this morning, ahead of a flurry of US-led diplomacy over Ukraine.
The US vice president was in Rome after attending the new Pope’s inaugural mass yesterday, with his motorcade seen entering Vatican City at about 6.30am today (UK time).
Joining Vance at the Vatican was Washington’s top diplomat Marco Rubio, the vice president’s spokesperson Luke Schroeder said.
The Pope criticised Vance in a social media post earlier this year. In early February, he shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, ‘JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others’.
The Vatican, which was largely sidelined during the first three years of Russia’s war, has offered to host peace talks.
After greeting Leo briefly at the end of yesterday’s mass, Vance spent the rest of the day in meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Last night, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Donald Trump about the upcoming call with Vladimir Putin.
According to his office, the UK prime minister was joined by the leaders of France, Italy and Germany.
A spokeswoman said the group had “discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously”.
“They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks,” she added.
French leader Emmanuel Macron has repeated European calls for Russia to agree to a 30-day halt in fighting.
That pause should be unconditional, he added, as proposed by Donald Trump, who speaks to Putin later today over the phone.
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