Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The 5th Anniversary International Festival of Classical Music "Cantata" will go beyond the Kaliningrad Region for the first time. This was announced on May 15 by the press service of the organizers.
"The opening of the festival will be preceded by the grand All-Russian classical music marathon "Cantata. Russia", which will be dedicated to the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland and will become one of the key events of Russia Day," the statement said.
It is noted that the festival marathon will be held from June 12 to 15, 2025 in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Sevastopol, Nizhny Novgorod, Yakutsk, Kaliningrad, Yuryevets, Crimea, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Vladivostok.
The concert program will include music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, represented by a suite from the ballet Swan Lake and the aria of Joan of Arc from the opera The Maid of Orleans, as well as Alexei Chernakov with a piece specially composed for Russia Day and Sergei Prokofiev with his cantata Alexander Nevsky.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, in 2024 the Cantata festival was held from June 3 to 9 in Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad region with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the Moscow government and the Kaliningrad region government. It included a series of live concerts and performances in picturesque and historically significant places in the region. Works by Russian and foreign composers were performed by internationally renowned artists.
Over 200 people took part in organizing the festival, including over 100 volunteers. Various works were performed by 330 artists.
It sounds wonderful! Here’s hoping attendance is even higher than hoped for, guys. More in English here, and here is the website for last year’s event.
[BBC] Nine people have been killed in a Russian drone attack on a civilian minibus in north-eastern Ukraine, local officials say.
Regional military leaders said seven other people were injured in the attack on Saturday morning in Bilopillia, Sumy, as the minibus travelled to the regional capital close to Russia's border.
The report came just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022. No breakthrough was achieved, although a prisoner of war swap was agreed.
Volodymr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said the attack was "a deliberate killing of civilians". Russia has not commented directly but state media reported forces had hit a "military staging area" in Sumy.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RIA] A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky is possible if the delegations of the two countries reach certain agreements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"A lot of questions have been received on the topic of a possible meeting between the presidents of the two countries, Ukraine and Russia, Zelensky and Putin. <…> Such a meeting as a result of the work of the delegations of the two sides upon reaching certain agreements of these delegations is possible. We consider it possible. But precisely as a result of work and upon reaching certain results in the form of agreements of the two sides," he said.
Other statements on the negotiations:
Work on the Ukrainian settlement has only just begun, and it will continue.
There is no talk of changing the composition of the Russian delegation.
Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to exchange lists of conditions for a ceasefire; work is underway.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are ongoing and should be held behind closed doors.
Before the next round of negotiations, the agreements reached must be implemented.
The fundamental issue for Russia when signing documents is the candidacy of the signatory from Ukraine.
There have been no contacts between the leaders of Russia and the United States since the talks in Istanbul.
The Kremlin will inform if Putin and Trump consider it appropriate to hold a telephone conversation.
Last week, Vladimir Putin proposed that Ukraine resume direct talks without preconditions. He stressed that he does not rule out achieving a real ceasefire that Kiev will observe.
The talks held on Friday lasted almost two hours. Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky , who heads the Russian delegation, announced a large-scale prisoner exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 with Ukraine. According to him, Moscow and Kiev agreed to present their vision of a possible future ceasefire.
The Ukrainian side requested a meeting of the heads of state at the talks, and Moscow took this into account. Medinsky also stated Russia's readiness to continue negotiations with Ukraine.
🔥 Russia Prepares for Bold Dnieper Crossing Assault from the Deep: Pontoon Bridges, Airborne Drills Signal Offensive Push
Kherson Front, Right Bank – Russian Armed Forces are actively preparing for a large-scale river crossing operation across the Dnieper. Reliable sources… pic.twitter.com/PkyB6Gf3Ta
— Henri Jose 🇫🇷 The opinion 🇩🇰 (@ThetruthDW) May 16, 2025
From the post: Kherson Front, Right Bank – Russian Armed Forces are actively preparing for a large-scale river crossing operation across the Dnieper. Reliable sources confirm the deployment of pontoon bridge equipment and coordination exercises within the Dnieper Group of Forces, hinting at a major offensive maneuver in the works.
But it doesn’t stop at ferries and pontoons. Exclusive footage obtained by PROSVET reveals airborne assault training by the 18th Combined Arms Army. These drills simulate rapid insertion behind enemy lines to seize key infrastructure, sow chaos in Ukrainian defenses, and secure the rear — all before enemy units can react.
This signals not just a tactical operation but a strategic turning point: a deliberate push to establish a lasting presence on the right (western) bank of the Dnieper. Russian planners aim to outflank entrenched Ukrainian positions, forcing a redeployment of their dwindling reserves, and shattering their overstretched command structure.
Should this airborne-pontoon combo succeed, it will be a devastating blow to the AFU's southern defense belt and a clear path to Mykolaiv and beyond.
📎 Sources:
– PROSVET Telegram Channel
– Military correspondents near Kherson, May 2025
– Satellite image analysis via OSINT networks
🧠 The Opinion
The preparation to cross the Dnieper marks a calculated shift from attritional grinding to bold maneuver warfare. Russia is testing not just Ukraine’s lines, but its political cohesion and Western resolve.
An established bridgehead on the right bank would force Kyiv into panic-mode and complicate NATO’s logistics and media narrative. This is not a probing raid — it’s the opening act of the next major phase in the conflict.
If successful, the Kremlin will have rewritten the map again, this time with a splash across the Dnieper, and possibly the final nail in the coffin for Ukraine’s long-touted southern counteroffensive.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] ZSU repel Russian attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine.
A third of all Russian attacks have been concentrated on Pokrovskoe, where six military clashes are currently ongoing.
Since the beginning of the current day and as of 16:00, 61 combat clashes have occurred on the front, which is significantly less than the figure on Thursday . This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational report on Friday, May 16.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, two attacks by Russians near Vovchansk have been repelled. At present, another enemy attack is ongoing.
In the Kupyansk direction, Russian occupiers twice attempted to break through the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of Kolesnikovka and Novoosinove.
In the Liman direction, the invading army carried out four attacks near the settlement of Kolodyagi and in the direction of Olgovka, Ridkodub and Zelenaya Dolina. One battle continues to this day.
In the Seversky direction, one enemy assault was repelled in the Verkhnekamyansky area.
In the Kramatorsk direction, one attack in the area of Chasovy Yar has been stopped. Near Kurdyumovka, one combat clash is still ongoing.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy carried out 11 assaults in the Toretsk area and in the direction of Dilievka, Katerinovka and Novospasskoye. Six battles are still ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian invaders carried out 21 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Elizavetovka, Lisovka, Udachnoye, Novoaleksandrovka, Zaporozhye, Troitskoye, Bogdanovka, Andreyevka and in the direction of the settlements of Staraya Nikolaevka, Novaya Poltavka. The defense forces repelled 15 assaults. Six battles are still ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy attacked in the areas of Constantinople, Shevchenko, Novosilka and in the direction of Bogatyr and Zelenoye Pole. The Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully repelled nine assaults, and two more attacks are still ongoing.
In the Orekhov direction, the enemy advanced four times in the areas of the settlements of Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki.
Seven armed clashes took place in the Kursk direction .
Let us recall that on May 15, 165 battles took place on the front in 24 hours , almost half of which were in the Pokrovsky direction.
Over the past 24 hours, Russia has lost 1,100 fighters killed and wounded. The total number of Russian losses is approaching 1 million people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:53 Destruction of a Ukrainian BMP-1 by airdrops in the Boguslavka area in the Kupyansk direction —video. 20:29 On May 14, a Latvian citizen and well-known ideological neo-Nazi in Ukraine, Nikita Tarenov, call sign “Latvian”, was killed in battle. photo.
19:35 From 18:00 to 18:30 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
18:40 FPV drones calculations of the "West" group of forces destroyed enemy UAV control points in the Khar'kov region.
17:30 Calculation of the 152mm 2S19 self-propelled gun "Msta-S" struck areas where manpower is concentrated and on fortified positions of Ukrainian militants in the South Donetsk direction.
The artillerymen of the 36th Combined Arms Army of the East group of forces worked on the targets.
15:50 Drone operators of the "North" continue to destroy military equipment and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Khar'kov region, -video.
15:30 Around 14:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed one Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
14:55 Around 13:15 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed one Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
14:25 Around 11:30 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed one Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the airplane type over the territory of the Kursk region.
14:00 From May 10 to 16, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted six group strikes with high-precision weapons and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, which resulted in the destruction of an enterprise of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine, which produces components of the Neptune anti-ship missiles and unmanned boats, infrastructure facilities of military airfields, workshops for the assembly and repair of weapons and military equipment, places for the storage and preparation for use of attack unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned boats, ammunition depots, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries.
13:40 Units of the "East" group of forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defense and liberated the settlement of Volnoye Pole in the Donetsk People's Republic.
13:20 Specialists of the Rubicon Center are destroying Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower near the village of Tarasovka.
12:30 Hit using the Geran UAV on the air defense system and the parking area of the 82nd Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Velyka Chernetchina in the Sumy region, – video.
11:40 Naval infantry of the 177th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Regiment of the Caspian flotilla of the "North" group beat on firing positions, fortifications and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
10:30 UAV "Geran-2" calculations destroyed warehouses of the 117th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Zolotoy Kolodez in the Oktyabrsky direction.
9:40 From 22:00 on May 15 to 08:30 on May 16 by air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed and 65 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 43 – over the Black Sea,
– 21 – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
– One – over the territory of the Belgorod region.
8:45 Drone operators of the "Southern" group of troops destroyed equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during an attempt to conduct a rotation in the Aleksandro-Kalinovskoye direction, in the area of the settlement of Aleksandro-Shultino.
8:15 Servicemen of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the West Group of Forces destroyed combat equipment and artillery guns of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, using the Orlan-10 drone and Lancet loitering munitions.
8:05 Scouts of the North group of troops detected the advance of another enemy engineering vehicle for obstacle clearance from the area of the settlement of Atynskoye in the Sumy region.
Precise strikes from FPV drones destroyed enemy equipment before it reached the border.
8:00 The Kostroma paratroopers’ 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS crews fired a salvo at the enemy’s positions in the vicinity of Chasov Yar, –video.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Captured Ukrainian soldiers admit that they had orders to kill Russian civilians. This was stated on May 16 by the Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the Crimes of the Kiev Regime Rodion Miroshnik.
"They received permission not to value the civilian population. They received orders to kill Russian speakers. I am simply quoting the testimony given by Ukrainian servicemen, I met with them myself. All the data that I provide has been personally verified by me," he said during a briefing in Bishkek.
At the same time, according to him, Western politicians and media ignore all the crimes of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) against civilians. Miroshnik emphasized that at this time, the head of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, publicly demands peace.
"Zelensky continues to use this show-style rhetoric, when he shouts that he wants peace, but at the same time we see that the number of strikes in the Belgorod region has increased several times over in recent days. The number of injured civilians has increased several times over. Strikes on civilian transport, medical teams, rescuers and others," the ambassador concluded.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on May 15, the first day of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used an American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system to strike a hospital in the village of Tetkino in the Kursk region. The building was completely destroyed.
On May 11, Miroshnik noted that, against the backdrop of steps taken by the Russian side to reduce tensions, Kiev is intensifying attacks on peaceful targets. Most often, Ukrainian drones attack cars in the Belgorod, Kursk, Kherson regions, as well as in the LPR. Miroshnik also stated that Zelensky is doing everything to disrupt the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, which are taking place in Istanbul.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Negotiations in the Istanbul 2.0 format have begun.
These are the first direct negotiations of this kind since March 2022, when Istanbul 1.0 was thwarted by Johnson and Biden.
More than 3 years later, the situation is much worse for Ukraine, with roughly the same people in roughly the same format.
The negotiations will be held behind closed doors. At the same time, the official ban on negotiations with Russia has not been lifted. However, it does not actually hinder anything, due to the lack of a legal framework in Ukraine.
Russia has demonstratively and pointedly ignored Zelensky.
It is not yet clear whether there will be a continuation.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia demanded a complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the territory of 4 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the creation of a security zone in the Sumy region. In case of refusal, next time the talks will be about another new region of Russia.
As you can easily guess, given the situation at the front, Russia spoke from a position of strength.
Istanbul 2.0 in this regard is very different from Istanbul 1.0, which would now be a joy for Ukraine. But that chance was missed thanks to Biden and Zelensky.
We are waiting for a continuation.
One good news - a big exchange will take place soon - they will exchange 1000 for 1000. We are waiting for ours to come home.
Also today there was an exchange of the dead - we got back 34 of ours, the enemy got 909 killed Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers.
More from regnum.ru Russia and Ukraine exchanged bodies of fallen soldiers
Russia has handed over the bodies of 909 dead fighters to Ukraine, receiving in exchange the remains of 34 Russian soldiers. This was reported on May 16 by State Duma deputy, representative of the parliamentary group on special operations Shamsail Saraliev, citing data from the coordination mechanism.
Saraliev, whose words were quoted by RBC, also expressed gratitude for the assistance in returning the bodies of the dead Russian soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Law enforcement agencies, together with experts from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will identify the dead.
According to war correspondent Alexander Kots, it was mainly Ukrainian soldiers who died in the border areas of the Kursk region that were handed over to Kiev.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on April 18, Saraliev said that the Russian side handed over 909 bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev during the exchange and in return received the bodies of 41 fallen soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces. A similar exchange had already been conducted, when Russia received the bodies of 43 dead, and Ukraine received 909.
Ukrainian troops suffer heavy losses during the special operation. According to information as of April 2, since the beginning of the year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost 138,545 servicemen.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Yesterday, the much-anticipated promotion of Colonel General Mordvichev took place.
Mordvichev's most effective operations during the war were the battle for Mariupol, the battle for Avdeevka, and the subsequent offensive west of Avdeevka.
Mordvichev is one of those who can be called a commander in our army.
Every commander is a general, but not every general is a commander.
In Mordvichev's case, the results spoke for themselves, so his career rise was expected. I remember hearing from informed people back in November 2024 that his career would soon take off. I assume that his current position is not the limit for him.
Colonel General Solodchuk will take his place as commander of the Central Military District. A former Airborne Forces officer, he commanded the 36th Army. Now the Central Military District and the entire "Center" group, which is solving the tasks of liberating the western part of Donbass, are coming under his command. The dynamics of the offensive there are now good, so the cards are in his hands.
Former commander-in-chief of the ground forces Salyukov was transferred to work in the Security Council of the Russian Federation as Shoigu's deputy. Shoigu, by the way, had his military service extended for another 5 years until 2030. This is in relation to the rumors that Shoigu was going to retire. Salyukov, in short, was kicked upstairs.
At the last meeting where the negotiators sent to Istanbul were briefed, he was present at Putin's right hand.
More from X:
🇷🇺🇺🇦 RUSSIA PROMOTES WAR GENERALS!
Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev has been appointed the new commander-in-chief of the Russian Ground Forces.
He is considered one of the most capable Russian military leaders.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin: [ColonelCassad] The Kalashnikov Concern presented to journalists for the first time the AK-12K and AK-12SK, developed taking into account the experience of the SVO
Kalashnikov Concern presented the AK-12 shortened (AK-12K) and AK-12 compact (AK-12SK) assault rifles to federal media journalists for the first time. Sergey Urzhumtsev, Chief Designer of Kalashnikov Concern JSC, presented the products as part of the training workshop "School of a Gunsmith Journalist" at the Kalashnikov Shooting Center in the Central Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Recreation of the Russian Armed Forces "Patriot"
The latest 5.45mm AK-12K and AK-12SK assault rifles were developed for the 5.45x39mm cartridge and are intended to destroy enemy manpower. They have improved technical, ergonomic and operational characteristics that meet the requirements of modern combat.
When firing from them, in particular, 5.45mm cartridges with a regular 7N6 bullet, 5.45mm cartridges with a 7N10 high-penetration bullet, as well as 5.45mm cartridges with 7T3 and 7T3M tracer bullets are used.
The capacity of the AK-12K and AK-12SK magazines is 30 rounds.
The machine guns are equipped with a low-noise shooting device (PMS) weighing no more than 0.8 kg.
In addition to the new machine guns, they showed all sorts of different shooting - machine guns, sniper rifles, machine guns + body kit + personal protective equipment + equipment.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Regnum] The 5th Anniversary International Festival of Classical Music "Cantata" will go beyond the Kaliningrad Region for the first time. This was announced on May 15 by the press service of the organizers.
[ColonelCassad] The 
