Putin's peace hint and a Latvian resignation on 10 May
Two developments in the days before 11 May 2026 pointed to a war that was shaping politics well beyond Ukraine's borders.
What did the days before 11 May 2026 reveal about the state of the Russo-Ukrainian war? Two reports, from 9 and 10 May, pointed in different directions.
On 9 May, at the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he thought the war might end soon. He had previously vowed victory over Ukraine, so the remark stood out against that earlier stance.
On 10 May, 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 operations could reach the territory and politics of a neighbouring state that was not a party to the fighting.
The negotiating backdrop
Putin's comment came after several rounds of peace talks since the 2022 invasion. In those talks, Putin has sought recognition of all occupied land as Russian, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, curtailment of Ukraine's military and the lifting of sanctions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought a ceasefire, full withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of prisoners and kidnapped Ukrainian children, prosecution of Russian leaders for war crimes, and security guarantees.
The distance between those positions is the context for any reading of Putin's words on 9 May. A statement that the war may end soon did not, on its own terms, alter either side's stated demands.
Two signals
Taken together, the reports describe a conflict in which diplomacy and spillover ran side by side. One concerned a possible end to the war; the other concerned a ministerial resignation in Latvia tied to drone incursions into its airspace.
