Russia,Ukraine Trade Blame for Fighting05/11 06:05

   A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was due to expire on 
Monday with both sides accusing each other of breaching the 72-hour 
arrangement, as American and European officials considered how they might steer 
the warring countries into further talks.

   (AP) -- A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was due to 
expire on Monday with both sides accusing each other of breaching the 72-hour 
arrangement, as American and European officials considered how they might steer 
the warring countries into further talks.

   Ukrainian authorities said Monday that Russian drones, bombs and artillery 
shelling struck civilian areas of the northeastern Kharkiv and southern Kherson 
regions, killing at least two people and wounding seven others.

   Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Kyiv of committing more than 
1,000 ceasefire violations, state media reported.

   Similar ceasefires announced since Russia invaded its neighbor more than 
four years ago have also failed to stop the fighting, and U.S.-led diplomatic 
efforts over the past year have come to nothing.

   The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said data from NASA 
observations indicated military activities decreased but did not stop after 
Trump announced last Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian 
leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy had accepted his request for a ceasefire running 
Saturday through Monday. The move was meant to mark Victory Day, the Russian 
celebration marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.

   The ISW noted late Sunday that "ceasefires without explicit enforcement 
mechanisms, credible monitoring, and defined dispute resolution processes are 
unlikely to hold."

   Trump had said there would also be an exchange of prisoners, declaring that 
the break in fighting could be the "beginning of the end" of the war. Zelenskyy 
said the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side is being prepared.

   There are no signs that the two sides are ready to budge from their key 
negotiating positions, however.

   Putin wants all of the Donbas region, Ukraine's industrial heartland, even 
though his army hasn't completely captured it, but Zelenskyy won't surrender 
it. Zelenskyy has offered a ceasefire and a face-to-face meeting with Putin, 
which the Russian leader has ruled out until a negotiated settlement is almost 
finalized.

   Putin suggested at the weekend that former German Chancellor Gerhard 
Schrder, who has had close business ties to Russia, could act as a mediator. 
But German and European officials scotched that possibility even while 
accepting that the European Union could take a more significant role in peace 
efforts are being largely sidelined by Washington over the past year.

   Even so, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc must get its 
objectives straight before attempting to negotiate with the Kremlin.

   "Before we discuss with Russia, we should discuss amongst ourselves what we 
want to talk to them about," she told reporters in Brussels.

   Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joined EU foreign ministers for the 
Brussels meeting. "We have mainstream peace talks under the leadership of the 
U.S., and we need this track and we need U.S. leadership. But Europe could play 
also its role," Sybiha said.

   He noted that in recent months Ukraine has improved its performance on the 
battlefield, reducing the bigger Russian army to a slow and costly slog on the 
1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, while using its domestically developed 
long-range drones and missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.

   "We have a new reality on the battlefield ... Ukraine became stronger after 
the most difficult winter," Sybiha said.

   German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was the latest senior European 
official to visit Kyiv, arriving Monday on an unannounced visit that was set to 
focus on furthering defense cooperation between the two countries.

   Prime Minister Evika Silina on Sunday ordered the resignation of Defense 
Minister Andris Sprds in the wake of recent drone incidents in the Baltic 
country.

   In a post on X, Silina said Sprds had "lost my trust" following a drone 
incident that "clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the 
defense sector has failed to fulfill its promise of safe skies over our 
country."

   Sprds quit, saying it was a domestic political dispute.

   Ukraine's Sybiha said Sunday he spoke again with Latvian Foreign Minister 
Baiba Brae about recent drone incidents in Latvia, following investigations 
that determined Russian electronic warfare had deliberately diverted Ukrainian 
drones from their intended targets inside Russia.

   Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to working with the Baltic states and 
Finland to prevent similar incidents, offering the direct involvement of 
Ukrainian specialists.

   Estonia, Poland and Romania have also reported stray drones landing on their 
soil.