Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 9 that the Ukraine conflict is "nearing its end" but offered no details, raising hopes of a resolution [1, 2, 3, 4]. Kremlin officials quickly clarified there is no concrete plan to end the war, reaffirming a hardline position that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Donbas before any ceasefire talks can proceed [1, 2, 3, 4]. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed ongoing trilateral cooperation between Russia, Ukraine, and the US on ending the war but said "at this stage there is no specific content to discuss" [1, 2, 3, 5, 4].

US President Trump said just before visiting China on May 12 that an end to the war is imminent but gave no specifics [1, 5]. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed skepticism about Russia’s intentions and urged Trump to discuss peace efforts with China during his visit [1, 6, 7, 5, 8]. Zelensky said, "Russia has no intention to end this war. We regretfully prepare for a new wave of attacks. Peace must come, and that is our goal" [7]. He called the recent attacks "absolutely not something done by those who think the war is about to end" [9].

Between May 9 and May 11, Russia and Ukraine observed a US-mediated three-day ceasefire marred by mutual violations [1, 7, 2, 3, 8, 4]. The ceasefire ended overnight on May 11 with both sides resuming large-scale attacks [7, 2, 3, 4]. On May 12-13, Russia launched its largest drone attack since invading in 2022, firing over 1,500 drones and 56 missiles at Kyiv and other cities. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 652 drones. The attacks killed at least 15 civilians [10, 9, 11, 12].

On May 13, a large daytime drone strike targeted western Ukraine near NATO borders, killing at least 6 people. Multiple NATO countries, including Poland and Hungary, condemned the attacks and raised defenses [10, 12]. Ukrainian forces reported 180 conflict incidents and 38 waves of Russian offensives along the frontline in the past 24 hours alone. Local officials confirmed at least 3 deaths in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions [7, 8].

Peskov said, "The humanitarian ceasefire has ended, the special military operation will continue" [2]. Both sides accuse each other of ceasefire violations; the Russian Defense Ministry reported over 23,800 violations during the ceasefire period [7, 8].

President Trump’s visit to China began on May 12 as he aimed to discuss the war’s end. Ukrainian leaders have urged greater international diplomacy amid escalating violence on the ground.