"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."
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.
The aftermath of a Russian attack on the Nova Sloboda community in Sumy Oblast, northeastern Ukraine, on Feb. 20, 2024. (Sumy Oblast Military Administration/Telegram)
Russian forces struck the Nova Sloboda community in Sumy Oblast in the early morning of Feb. 20, killing two residents, the regional administration reported.
Settlements in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast suffer from almost daily attacks due to their proximity to the border with Russia.
Russia carried out the attack against Nova Sloboda at around 5 a.m. local time using artillery and aviation, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said on Telegram.
The strike reportedly caused a fire in a residential building. After the fire was extinguished, rescuers found the bodies of two people on the site, according to the regional authorities.
The number of casualties may increase as the search and rescue operation continues.
Nova Sloboda lies around 90 kilometers northwest of the city of Sumy and less than 10 kilometers from the Russo-Ukrainian border.
Russian forces hit Sumy Oblast 252 times in 54 separate attacks on Feb. 19, injuring four people, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported earlier.
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.
Alexander Khrebet
