"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.
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.
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.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
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."
Houses damaged by one of the Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine, on Aug. 21, 2023. (Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration/Facebook)
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed three civilians and wounded 24 over the past 24 hours, regional authorities reported on Aug. 21.
A total of nine Ukrainian oblasts were targeted during this period — Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Casualties were reported in the last four regions.
Russia hit 129 Ukrainian settlements and 37 infrastructure facilities, according to the Defense Ministry's Military Media Center.
Russian troops reportedly used mortars, grenade launchers, tanks, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), drones, and tactical aviation.
Russia launched 78 attacks against Kherson Oblast on Aug. 20, firing 377 projectiles from various weapons, the regional governor wrote. Two people were killed, and three were injured, according to Oleksandr Prokudin.
The attacks reportedly hit residential areas, a critical infrastructure facility, and a factory in Kherson Oblast.
Twenty-three settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast were targeted 92 times, the regional administration reported. A 61-year-old man was killed, and two other people were injured in Shyroke and Mala Tokmachka, the authorities added.
The Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration said it had received six reports about the destruction of houses due to Russian attacks.
The Russian military struck three districts in Kharkiv Oblast, with Kupiansk shelled “non-stop" on Aug. 20, according to the oblast governor. Eleven civilians were wounded in the city, including a paramedic, Oleh Synehuibov reported.
Local authorities recently began a mandatory evacuation of civilians from the Kupiansk district due to increased Russian attacks.
A 71-year-old man was also injured in Kharkiv Oblast’s Vovchansk, Synehuibov said on Telegram. The attacks reportedly damaged houses, enterprises, an apartment building, a post branch, an educational institution, a medical facility, and other civilian objects.
In Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks injured seven civilians, said Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Two more people were injured in Katerynivka, some 15 kilometers southwest of Marinka, according to the official.
Russia targeted eight settlements and two communities in the region, damaging nine houses, an apartment building, and an administration building, added Kyrylenko.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Daria Shulzhenko
