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Ceasefire strain: drones, a resignation and Putin's remark
Summary
A look back at the security developments around 11 May 2026, as a three-day ceasefire met a Kharkiv strike and a Latvian ministerial exit.
What did a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine actually look like by 11 May 2026? The reports from the preceding days suggest a pause that was tested almost at once, while its political aftershocks reached as far as Riga.
A ceasefire under strain
On 9 May 2026, Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of Kharkiv Oblast, said a Russian drone had struck a residential building in Kharkiv at the start of the three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russian forces have launched numerous rocket attacks on the city since the 2022 invasion, which began the current phase of the war.
Putin's remark on Victory Day
The same day, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he thought the war might end soon. He spoke after having vowed victory over Ukraine during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow. The two statements sat uneasily together.
The remark came against a long record of talks. There have been several rounds of negotiations since the February 2022 invasion, following the Minsk agreements of the War in Donbas. The positions of the two sides have remained far apart. Putin seeks recognition of all occupied land as Russian, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, a curtailed Ukrainian military and the lifting of sanctions. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks a ceasefire, full withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of prisoners and kidnapped children, prosecution of Russian leaders for war crimes, and security guarantees.
A resignation in Latvia
On 10 May 2026, the fallout spread beyond the front line. Andris Sprūds resigned as Latvian defence minister after Ukrainian drones violated Latvian airspace during an attack on Russia. The episode showed how the war's air campaign could affect neighbouring states that were not combatants.
What the days showed
By 11 May 2026, three threads were visible. A declared truce had not stopped drone strikes on a Ukrainian city. The Russian president had offered an upbeat comment on the war's possible end without altering the stated demands that have shaped the negotiations. And a NATO-neighbouring state had lost its defence minister over airspace violations linked to the conflict.
The ceasefire was brief, and the questions it raised about enforcement, airspace and the terms of any settlement were still open on that date.
