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.
A protestor holds a banner “Free All Political Prisoners” during a demonstrate of solidarity with Belarusian political prisoners and against Alexander Lukashenko's dictatorship in Krakow, Poland on Jan. 16, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Mykola Klimovich, a 61-year-old blogger and social activist from Pinsk, died in prison, Human rights center Viasna reported.
In February, Klimovich was sentenced to a year in prison for reacting to a caricature depicting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the Odnoklasniki social network.
The blogger, who opposed the war, said during trial that his publications on social networks were related to an anti-war topic.
Despite the fact that the activist had very serious heart problems, he was placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he was held pending an appeal.
Before the court hearing on April 21, Klimovich told journalists that he is afraid of dying in prison, because he had to be constantly under the supervision of a medical staff and take “many strong drugs.” He also had a stroke and a complex heart operation previously.
“I may not live more than a month (in prison),” he said.
In July last year, Lukashenko said that Minsk and Russia's forces are “practically united” as countries of the Union State, a supranational organization consisting of the two countries.
Belarus supported Russia's war against Ukraine, not directly participating, but providing logistical support to the Russian invasion and allowing the Russian army to use its territory to launch missiles at Ukraine.
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