The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on May 17 2025

RUAF Less Than 1KM From Pokrovsk | AFU Flank Torske | 12 Months of Meatgrinder Operations

Turning Point? Russia Encircles Ukraine’s Largest Force Since War Began

[ Ukraine War Conclusions ] Peace Talks are going to FAIL; Massive flanking ops at Pokrovsk Front!

The negotiating track will continue, both sides are ready for a truce, but the Kremlin has set systemic conditions for the settlement of the conflict, which must be fulfilled at Bankova. According to information from the delegation members, a roadmap must be adopted, which outlines the stages of work of the negotiating groups and the development of specific solutions for the settlement of the conflict. The Russian delegation spoke out against any formats of trilateral meetings and the participation of EU representatives, while declaring its readiness to discuss the format of a truce.

Our source in the delegation said that the US Secretary of State entered into a very tough dialogue with the Ukrainian delegation and set us the framework for how to conduct the negotiating track. It was at the trilateral negotiations of Ukraine, the US and Turkey in Istanbul that Andriy Yermak held a personal meeting with Marco Rubio and Keith Kellogg where our delegation was outlined the vector of the necessary negotiations with Russia, and also again reminded of the compromising evidence that the American intelligence services have on the functionaries of the President’s Office.

Our source in the delegation said that Ukraine must suspend mobilization for the period of the temporary ceasefire, and EU countries must suspend arms supplies, while the US has already confirmed its readiness to fulfill this condition.

It’s funny to read Ukrainian politicians, especially Sorosites, who talk about the weak position of partners who have become mediators!

Political Telegram channels have been warning about the trend in the West for three years, but obvious things were not noticed not only at Bankova. Complex scenarios await us ahead, each of which carries certain costs for the country, which our politicians do not want to see. In Russia, they have already modeled scenarios of the negotiation track, which could lead to a serious escalation with Russia and the loss of new territories if Europe now decides to supply weapons unilaterally.

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Our source in the delegation said that the next meeting will take place after the prisoner exchange, and the meeting between Zelensky and Putin will take place after the decree to negotiate with the Russian president is cancelled.

Information about the roadmap has appeared.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is possible only after specific agreements are reached between the delegations of the two countries. This was reported to journalists by the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov.

“From the very beginning, many questions were received about a possible meeting between the presidents of the two countries – Zelensky and Putin. Here I would like to clarify: such a meeting is possible as a result of the work of the delegations of the two sides… We consider it possible, but precisely upon reaching the results of agreements between the two sides. When signing documents, the question of who exactly will sign them remains fundamental for us,” Peskov said during a conference call.

The Kremlin spokesman also added that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to prepare their lists of conditions for a ceasefire, but the Russian side has not yet disclosed the details of future proposals and has not specified whether the Istanbul documents will be taken as a basis. The negotiation process is ongoing and will be held behind closed doors, Peskov summed up. The day before, a meeting of delegates from Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul.

Despite all of Kiev’s attempts to disrupt the dialogue, the negotiation process continues. Moreover, it seems that Moscow, acting in tacit cooperation with Washington, is methodically forcing Zelensky into a framework in which he is forced to accept someone else’s conditions.

So, first there was talk of a truce on Easter, then on May 9, now about talks in Istanbul, scheduled exactly for the anniversary of the failed round in 2022. These symbolic dates are not a coincidence, but elements of pressure. And Zelensky, despite his aggressive rhetoric, is bending. Every time he tries to deviate from the proposed course, American “partners” quickly remind him where his place is in the international hierarchy. Against this background, the so-called globalist advisers who still influence Bankova are effectively dropped from the agenda. Decisions are not made in Kiev or Europe. And the most telling thing is that if Putin gave directives to his delegation, and Zelensky to his, then, in fact, these are already negotiations between them. Only through intermediaries. Even if Zelensky formally prohibited them by his decree, this document will have to be canceled. Without this, the legal force of the agreements will be zero. This means that here, too , Ukraine is put in the position of a catch-up player, which can only adapt to the already constructed scenario.

Whether we like it or not, everything is moving according to Russian logic, where the Ukrainian side is increasingly turning not into a participant in the process, but into an object of agreement. And Zelensky in Turkey, although he tried to bully Trump behind the scenes and Putin openly, at the instigation of Moscow and Washington, drove Ukraine into the most difficult diplomatic situation since 2022.

Our source in the delegation said that Andrei Yermak again proposed to the President of Moldova to start an operation in Transnistria, but Sandu proposed to work out the format and wait for the autumn parliamentary elections so as not to frighten the voters. The head of the OP insisted that now is the time to close the issue of the PMR, while Richard Moore remains the head of MI-6.

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It has long been no secret that weapons are already being collected in warehouses in Poland, and then sent to Ukraine in small batches. In April-May, for two months of 2022, the flow worked like a river, it was organized in a week, according to sources in the OP, this is exactly the scenario that was discussed in Albania, that weapons and ammunition are being accumulated in Poland, and then, if necessary, transferred to Ukraine. We really need a ceasefire now in order to regroup troops and strengthen defense, which is why the globalists are demanding it.

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While formal negotiations were taking place in Istanbul, in Tirana they were discussing the expansion of the war.

The Moldovan public writes that Sandu and Zelensky discussed options for unfreezing the Transnistrian case at a closed meeting.

Let us recall that we have long been an insider that the unfreezing of the Transnistrian case is Plan B for Zelensky/Sandu/globalists to disrupt Trump’s plans and confuse the cards at the gaming table. We also pointed out that Zelensky could arrange the PMR case at the moment of agony.

Trump will hold a telephone conversation with Putin on Monday , and will also later call Zelensky and NATO leaders.

In principle, our source informed us about this on May 15, indicating that a personal meeting between Putin and Trump is being prepared, which will first be preceded by a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

We will see how it will be, since everything is unstable and changeable now.

Western media publishes Russia’s demands in negotiations with Ukraine

▪️Neutral Ukraine – there should be no foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction on the territory of Ukraine, which is similar to the Austrian model of neutrality.

▪️No reparations – mutual renunciation of any claims for compensation for damage caused by the war.

▪️Rights of Russian-speaking citizens. Ukraine must adopt European standards of minority rights and put an end to nationalist propaganda.

▪️Recognition of territories – Ukraine should not deny Russia’s constitutional claims to five Ukrainian regions (DPR, LPR, Kherson, Zaporizhia regions and Crimea) and their international recognition.

▪️The condition for an immediate ceasefire is that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all five Russian territories.

❗️Russian sources have not yet confirmed this.

These are Ukrainian sources. One has to be careful. Ukraine and European leaders are trying to frame Russia as unreasonable and preventing peace. Even if they were Russian positions, both sides start with maximalist demands.

Fierce fighting near Pokrovsk: Brave troops burn tanks, NATO equipment, infantry and artillery of the enemy en masse

▪️A selection of combat work by fighters of the Center group of forces on May 15 to destroy military equipment, weapons, infantry and positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during active combat operations in the Pokrovsk direction.

▪️The footage shows NATO armoured vehicles, firing points, mortars, infantry, enemy positions and transport being burned.

- RVvoenkor

The Russian army liberated Bogatyr in the South Donetsk direction

 - As a result of assault actions, fighters of the 36th motorized rifle brigade of the 29th army of the “Vostok” group liberated the village of Bogatyr.

 - The military personnel completed the cleanup and raised Russian flags in the city.

 - As a result of the military operations, more than 1,400 buildings were cleared, and up to a combined battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the 79th separate airborne brigade, 37th separate marine brigade and 33rd separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed.

As expected, after the breakthrough of the AFU defenses in the Bogatyr area, the Russian forces began to develop their offensive along the N-15 highway, one of the key areas of operational importance. Movement along this axis offers several advantages at once: first, it makes it possible to pull back some AFU forces from the western defense sector of Pokrovsk, and second, it opens direct access to the administrative border of the DPR and Dnepropetrovsk region.

Morning Summary on May 17, 2025

▪️ Against the backdrop of the main event of yesterday, the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul, with Kyiv’s demands for a 30-day ceasefire and Moscow’s demand for the AFU to withdraw from constitutional territories, fighting and mutual strikes continued. In short – our side said the war will be long if Kyiv does not fulfill our conditions, and Russia will demand even more at the next negotiations. The Russian Army is fighting in the Sumy Region and approaching the Dnipropetrovsk Region.

▪️ Before the start of the meeting in Istanbul, it became known that the AFU struck drones at an ammunition depot in Perevalnoye (https://t.me/dva_majors/71293) in Crimea, which only underscored their unwillingness for the 30-day respite desired by Kyiv. Logically, such a demonstration by Ukraine only strengthens the understanding of the inadmissibility of giving it time to manufacture new batches of drones and strengthen the front.

▪️ At night, our forces struck with “Geraniums” at Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Poltava Regions.

▪️ From the Kursk borders (Tyotkino direction), the “North” Joint Tactical Group of the Russian Armed Forces reports that over the past day, three unsuccessful attempts by the AFU to break through to our territory were repelled: the enemy has been attacking our lines daily for weeks, isolating the combat area, cutting off the forward units with drone and artillery fire. The Russian Armed Forces are destroying the enemy’s equipment and infantry with FAB bombs, artillery, and drones. Intense battles are underway, but the AFU do not abandon their plans. Zelenskyy’s troops continue to strike at civilian infrastructure. An enemy FPV drone attacked an electrical substation in Rylsk.

▪️ At the same time, in the Sumy direction, Russian Airborne Forces units continue to advance deeper into Ukrainian territory. Thus, in the course of fierce battles, the paratroopers advanced in Belovody and the vicinity of the village.

▪️ In the Belgorod Region, the AFU are terrorizing the civilian population with drone and artillery strikes. An enemy drone deliberately attacked a man moving on a bicycle in the area of the village of Arkhangelskoye in the Shebekino district, the civilian was killed. In Borisovka, an AFU drone attacked a car in a commercial facility parking lot, a civilian was injured. Under strikes are Valuyki, Urazovo, Sobolevka, the Leonovka farm, Shebekino, Rzhevka, Meshkovoye.

▪️ In the Konstantinovka direction, the Russian Armed Forces are encircling a huge “pocket” of AFU defense in the Aleksandropol – Staraya Nikolaevka – Romanovka area. Its closure is a matter of time, with high-intensity battles ongoing.

▪️ In the Pokrovsk direction, the Russian Armed Forces are fighting for Mirolyubovka and its environs, the enemy is taking countermeasures. At the same time, pressure is coming from Malinivka, and the terrain between them near Yekaterynivka is being enveloped in a pincer movement. Southwest of Pokrovsk, there are battles to reach the Dnipropetrovsk Region.

▪️ The “East” Joint Tactical Group on the South Donetsk direction is pulling up the flanks near the settlement of Bogatyr, straightening the front line and closing the “pockets”. The central part of the settlement has been cleared. Clearing of the adjacent territory near the recently captured Volnoye Pole is underway.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-may_17.html