The comments came after Trump urged Ukraine to agree to direct negotiations with Russia, which has invited Kyiv to peace talks in Istanbul on May 15, without first agreeing to halt military operations.
A Russian drone hit a civilian freight train in Donetsk Oblast on May 12 and injured its driver, Ukrainian Railways said amid Kyiv's calls for a ceasefire.
Moscow and Hanoi agreed to negotiate and sign agreements to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement on May 11.
The sanctions appear to be in response to Russia's rejection of a 30-day ceasefire that the U.K., alongside Ukraine, France, Germany, and Poland, demanded during a visit to Kyiv on May 10.
"We now know for sure that the great fire of the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X. "Some of the perpetrators have already been detained, all the others are identified and searched for."
The publications' latest report covers the period of February 24, 2022 to May 8, 2025. Since it was last updated at the end of April, 2,857 additional Russian military personnel have been confirmed killed.
Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press conference at the US embassy in Beijing on August 29, 2024 (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
Allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS to strike targets deep inside Russia is the subject of "intense consultations," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, said on Sept. 14.
Speaking at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, Sullivan reiterated that no decision had yet been made, a day after President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington to discuss the issue.
Ukraine had been hoping for permission to be granted during the talks to use two Western-supplied long-range missiles – Storm Shadow and ATACMS – to strike military targets such as airfields located deep inside Russian territory.
But Starmer left Washington with no such announcement being made, putting Kyiv's hopes on hold once again.
"I understand Ukraine's perspective on it," Sullivan said, adding: "But rather than me trying to elaborate on the reasoning one way or the other, this is something that I think is the subject of intense consultation among allies and partners, and will be (discussed) between President (Biden) and President Zelensky."
Zelensky is due to travel to New York later this month for the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking at the same conference a day earlier, Zelensky said the U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles are "pointless" in Ukraine due to their limited quantity and restrictions on strikes deep inside Russia imposed by Western partners.
The U.S. began providing Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 300 kilometers (190 miles), in the spring.
While these missiles have been used in Russian-occupied Crimea, Washington's restrictions prevent their use on Russian soil.
"ATACMS in the form that we have today (in Ukraine) is pointless if you cannot use it on their (Russian) military bases, airfields with helicopters and airplanes. It's pointless," Zelensky said.
"If ATACMS has a big restriction on the use of missiles because there are few of them... Unfortunately, it doesn't work."
The NYT reported that it's likely a decision will be made about Storm Shadows before one is reached over ATACMS.
"We've now seen this action of Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran, which will further empower their aggression in Ukraine. So if anyone is taking escalatory action, it would appear to be Mr. Putin and Russia," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, said while visiting Kyiv earlier this week.
Lammy added that Iran supplying ballistic missiles to Russia "clearly changes the debate" around the issue, as it allows the Kremlin to gain "further penetration into Ukraine."
Zelensky is also expected to present Biden with a plan for Ukraine's victory against Russia, which will also be presented to Vice President Kamala Harris and ex-President Donald Trump, the two candidates for the upcoming November presidential election.
"I do think we need a comprehensive strategy for success in this war and that is what President Zelensky says he's bringing," Sullivan said.
"And so we're very much looking forward to sitting down and talking that through, and President Biden is eager for that conversation.
"And it's only right that it be President Zelensky who brings that because it is up to the democratically elected government of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine to set out the course of the war, their path to victory."
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Dinara Khalilova
