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Ceasefire talk and strikes on 24 May 2024
Summary
A look back at a day when talk of a freeze along the frontlines sat beside missile strikes, aid pledges and Baltic border alarms.
What did diplomacy look like while the missiles were still flying? On 24 May 2024, sources claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in negotiating a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict at the current frontlines. The claim surfaced against a backdrop of continuing attacks on both sides of the line.
Strikes in the days before
On 23 May 2024, Russian missile strikes on Liubotyn and Kharkiv killed seven people and injured at least 28 others. The strikes fell within what was described as the 2024 Kharkiv offensive.
The same day, a Ukrainian missile strike on Alushta, in Crimea, killed at least two people. Explosions were reported across the peninsula, and Ukrainian media said multiple targets had been hit.
On 22 May 2024, Ukrainian shelling in Lysychansk, in Luhansk Oblast, killed at least two people and injured four.
Aid and a humanitarian exchange
Also on 22 May 2024, Sweden announced US$7 billion in military aid to Ukraine for the period from 2024 to 2026. That same day Russia returned six Ukrainian children displaced by the war, in a deal brokered by Qatar.
Unease on the Baltic
The region's northern edge drew attention too. On 22 May 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defence proposed unilaterally adjusting Russia's maritime border in the Baltic Sea. Baltic members of NATO, including Finland and Lithuania, voiced concern. The ministry later retracted the proposal.
On 23 May 2024, Russia removed border markers on the Narva River that signalled the border with Estonia. The European Union protested.
What the day showed
Taken together, these events show a day in which ceasefire talk coexisted with fresh casualties in Kharkiv region, Crimea and Luhansk Oblast. A freeze at the current lines was the idea attributed to Putin by sources, while Sweden's multi-year pledge pointed to continued military support through 2026.
The Baltic episodes added a separate strand: a maritime proposal that was withdrawn and a river border marker that was removed, each prompting a reaction from neighbours or the EU. Whether a freeze was a serious prospect was an open question on 24 May 2024, and the strikes of the preceding days gave no sign of a pause.
