The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
"Perhaps in some areas, the intensity decreased slightly to create an image of compliance with their own announcement. But in reality, (Russia) continued attacks every day, using all available weapons — including aircraft to drop guided bombs on Ukraine," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said.
Beijing supports all efforts toward achieving peace in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 12 when asked about Kyiv and Europe's proposal for a 30-day truce.
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
A Ukrainian soldier holds his child at the railroad station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine on Nov. 3, 2023 (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
As many as 70% of Ukrainians have friends or family who have fought or are currently fighting at the front line since February 2022, according to a poll by the Sociological Group Rating and the Veterans Affairs Ministry published on March 13.
In July 2022, 54% of Ukrainians said they had friends or family who had gained front-line experience since February 2022. This is similar to the number of respondents, at 55%, who said they had a friend or relative who fought for Ukraine between 2014 and 2021.
In August 2023, then-Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that around a million Ukrainians have become combat veterans since the Russian invasion of Donbas in 2014.
The respondents also voiced extremely high trust in the military, with 94% trusting military personnel and veterans, while 41% believed that they will become veterans in the future.
Men were far more likely to answer that they believe they will become a veteran in the future, with 63% of men agreeing with this statement, compared to 23% of women.
In terms of challenges faced by veterans who return from war, respondents indicated they believed psychological instability, problems with physical health and accessing medical care, and a lack of inclusivity for people with disabilities to be the most likely risks.
Most respondents, or 64%, said that the state is not fulfilling its obligations to veterans, a sharp drop from August 2022, when just 19% of respondents said the state is not fulfilling its obligations to veterans.
Igor Kossov
