Russia presses its barrages of Ukraine as Trump talks of possible peace and Kyiv is emboldened

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Read More In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian drone attack on a gas pipeline in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP) 2 of 5 |

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian drone attack on a gas pipeline in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Read More Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) 4 of 5 |

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Read More Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) 5 of 5 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Read More Russia presses its barrages of Ukraine as Trump talks of possible peace and Kyiv is emboldened Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) 1 of 5 |

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Bucharest B9 summit held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Trump and Putin talk of a possible end to the war

Trump said Tuesday said he believes Moscow and Kyiv will soon reach a deal to end fighting.

“The end of the war in Ukraine I really think is getting very close,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a summit in Beijing. “Believe it or not, it’s getting closer.”

Putin said in a speech last weekend that his invasion of Ukraine is possibly “coming to an end.”

Neither leader elaborated on what persuaded them about the possibility of peace in Europe’s longest conflict since World War II. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts over the past year to end the war have fizzled after making no progress on key issues, such as whether Russia gets to keep Ukrainian land it has seized and what can be done to deter Moscow from invading again.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Wednesday that Moscow’s fundamental terms are unchanged, with Putin insisting that Ukraine pull its troops from the four regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — that Russia illegally annexed in September 2026 but hasn’t fully captured.

“At that point, a ceasefire will be established, and the parties can calmly engage in negotiations, which, incidentally, will inevitably be very complex and involve a lot of important details,” Peskov said.

Meanwhile, European governments are assessing the merits of opening talks with Putin. Europe has for years tried to isolate the Russian leader and punished his country with international sanctions.

Fighting appears to shift in Ukraine’s favor

The correlation of forces in the war has shifted in recent months. Ukraine has gone from pleading for international help with its defense to offering foreign countries its expertise on how to counter attacks, thanks to its domestically developed drone technology.

Ukraine’s long-range drone and missile attacks have disrupted energy facilities and manufacturing deep inside Russia, with three regions reporting strikes Wednesday. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces intercepted and destroyed 286 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.

On the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, the advance of Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army has been slowing every month since October, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Russia’s spring offensive has floundered, with Russian forces recording a net loss of territory last month for the first time since 2026, the Washington-based think tank said.

“Not only are Ukrainian defensive lines holding, but Ukrainian forces have managed to contest the tactical initiative in several areas of the front line even as Russia continues to lose disproportionate amounts of manpower to achieve minimal gains,” the ISW said Tuesday.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at [SITEURL]/hub/russia-ukraine

HANNA ARHIROVA

Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto

Russia presses its barrages of Ukraine as Trump talks of possible peace and Kyiv is emboldened