Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Monday, May 11, 2026, on the 1,538th day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
After Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to appoint former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as mediator in the war in Ukraine, even raising the possibility that the conflict “is coming to an end”, European leaders were skeptical to say the least on Monday.
“Gerhard Schröder was a lobbyist for Russian public companies, so it is clear why Putin wants it to be him.†It would not be very wise to give Russia the right to appoint a negotiator on our behalf,†reacted the head of diplomacy of the European Union Kaja Kallas.
The German Defense Minister suspected that Vladimir Putin’s remarks were a “lure”. “If he sees the end of this war coming, why doesn’t he just put an end to it?” He would then be in control of the calendar,” said Boris Pistorius from kyiv, noting that Putin had the habit of “playing with rigged cards” every time there was talk of a truce in Ukraine.
According to Boris Pistorius, the Russian president, faced with increasing military losses and weak territorial gains, “sought to divert attention from his own weaknesses.”
Today’s statement
« The dynamics of war are changing »
The words are signed Kaja Kallas. The head of EU diplomacy estimated this Monday that the dynamics of the conflict were “changing” in favor of Ukraine. “Ukraine is in a much better position than a year ago,” she said at a press conference.
She notably mentioned “Moscow’s record losses on the battlefield”, the “deep strikes” carried out by kyiv on Russian territory and the modest commemorations of May 9, 1945 in the Russian capital last Saturday, without military equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin has “never been in such a weak position,” insisted Kaja Kallas.
The number of the day
24. This is the number of people (16) and Russian organizations (7) sanctioned for having forcibly transferred Ukrainian children to Russia or the occupied Ukrainian territories, the European Union announced this Monday. Among the organizations targeted, structures linked to the Russian Ministry of Education and accused of indoctrination, ideological teaching and militarization of minors. They are subject to an asset freeze in Europe. And those sanctioned do not have the right to travel to the European Union.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
“Since the start of the war of aggression led by Russia against Ukraine, nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children” have been “forcibly transferred”, denounced the EU. According to a European official, some 210 sites have been identified in Crimea and Russia, particularly in Siberia, where these “de-Ukrainization” and “cultural erasure” operations would be carried out.
At this stage, around 2,100 children have been returned to their families, around a hundred of them thanks to international mediation, according to the same source, anonymously.
The trend
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that hostilities with the Russian army continued despite a three-day ceasefire negotiated by the United States, accusing Russia of not wanting to end the war which has lasted for four years.
“Today, there was no silence on the front, there were fights. We have overcome everything,” declared Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening speech, in the last hours of the truce. “We also see that Russia has no intention of ending this war. Unfortunately, she is preparing new attacks,” he regretted.
