
Zelensky enacts new sanctions targeting propagandists, criminal networks, Russian financiers
"Ukraine continues to coordinate its sanction decisions with the sanction regimes of the European Union and other key global jurisdictions," Zelensky said.
Team
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
"Ukraine continues to coordinate its sanction decisions with the sanction regimes of the European Union and other key global jurisdictions," Zelensky said.
NATO is expected to ask Berlin to at least quadruple its air defense systems, ranging from long-range platforms such as the Patriot to short-range interceptors, according to Reuters.
"I’ve always gotten along with him," Trump said of Putin to reporters at an airport in New Jersey on May 25. "But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all."
As part of a broader policy realignment, this office would be merged into the Pentagon's Europe and NATO office, reducing its prominence despite its critical role since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A document seen by Reuters reveals that firms such as Rusal and Gazpromneft intend to reduce the volumes they plan to move by rail in 2025, prompting Russian Railways to slash spending by an additional 32.5 billion rubles ($408 million).
Multiple people were injured as multiple waves of explosions rocked Kyiv overnight on May 24 during a massive Russian drone and missile attack.
Ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, European leaders also discussed the potential for additional sanctions should Russia fail to engage constructively in ceasefire negotiations.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly led Poland’s presidential election on May 18, but failed to secure an outright victory.
"I have never received more stupid tasks than in the current direction," Oleksandr Shyrshyn wrote in a blunt Facebook post announcing his decision on May 16. "Someday I will tell you the details, but the stupid loss of people, trembling in front of a stupid generals, leads to nothing but failures."
Asked whether the Vatican could act as a peace broker, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he "wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going."
"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war — a war that should have never happened — will end. God bless us all!!!" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Honestly, I will (impose sanctions), if we're not gonna make a deal," Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview published on May 16. "This would be crushing for Russia because they're having a hard time now with the economy."
European officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they remain unsure of U.S. President Donald Trump's next move and fear that his unpredictable stance could undercut momentum toward a unified Western response.
"It’s more than 30 years of U.S. desire (to reduce troops in Europe), President Trump just said, enough, this is going to happen and it’s going to happen now," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
"Contrary to Kremlin narratives, time is not on Russia’s side," reads a new report from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).
"The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on May 7, according to Politico.
EU ambassadors began talks this week on a 17th sanctions package that targets Russia’s military-industrial complex, Moscow’s shadow shipping fleet, and related support networks.
In recent weeks, North Korea's leader has overseen the launch of a new naval destroyer and observed tests of new drone systems.
The French-made precision bombs are being transferred to Kyiv as part of ongoing defense support, and their use by Ukrainian fighter jets has grown significantly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Debris from the drones damaged houses and vehicles in several areas of the city, including the Shevchenkivskyi, Obolonskyi, and Svyatoshynskyi districts.
A Russian drone attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv injured at least 47 people on May 2, according to local authorities. At least eight people have been hospitalized.
Despite the uncertainty, Ukrainian officials have touted the deal as a political milestone that could help revive U.S. support under Donald Trump.
It is "going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are. It's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said.
"Vladimir Putin's Russia has made no effort, has sent no sign that it is ready for the ceasefire or the peace that President Donald Trump aspires to, and that the Europeans and, of course, the Ukrainians aspire to," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
The comments come amid Trump’s increasing frustration with what he sees as Moscow’s refusal to end its war against Ukraine, as Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians persist.
"Under Donald Trump’s presidency, if you come to our country and break our laws, you will be held accountable," U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote.
"There have been 16 strikes on Kharkiv," Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. "A high-rise apartment block was hit as well as private residences, a medical facility, and civil infrastructure."
One source told Bloomberg that negotiations have reportedly reached an impasse and require "direct contact between Putin and Trump" to make further progress.
"While the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, (Valery) Gerasimov, reports the 'liberation' of the Kursk region from Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces, operators of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center continue to carry out missions in the area successfully," the military said.
When asked whether he thought Zelensky was willing to cede the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, Donald Trump responded: "I think so."
Ukraine’s military spending grew by 2.9% in 2024 to reach $64.7 billion, roughly 43% of Russia’s total expenditure, according to a report released on April 28 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.