"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.
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.
US President Joe Biden during a news conference on Dec. 12, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden signed a record $886 billion defense spending bill into law on Dec. 22, according to a White House press release.
The National Defense Authorization Act is an annual bill that both parties have supported for over 60 years. The 2024 budget won widespread bipartisan approval in both the Senate and the House of Representativesbefore heading to Biden's desk.
The bill allocates only $300 million in its record-breaking budget for Ukraine aid. The money will fund the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through the year 2026.
The bill authorizes $300 million for the program through the end of the 2024 fiscal year, and for the year following.
These funds fall far short of the $61 billion in aid that Biden has urged Congress to approve. Lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on funding before the end of the year, as Republicans continue to obstruct Ukraine aid in an effort to pressure Democrats to impose aggressive restrictions on immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Biden praised the 2024 budget for advancing "critical objectives" but highlighted concerns over the bill's foreign policy sections, saying that some provisions might undermine the president's "authority to articulate the positions of the United States in international negotiations."
"Nevertheless, I will not treat them as limiting the President’s constitutional discretion to articulate the views of the United States before international organizations and with foreign governments," Biden said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
