"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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Illustrative photo of the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery, operated by OAO Lukoil, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Russia is planning to reduce diesel exports from its Black and Baltic Sea ports in April to the lowest level in five months due to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and the upcoming maintenance season, Bloomberg reported on April 1.
Fossil fuels are the primary drivers of the Russian economy and the main source of revenue for the Kremlin's war machine. Despite Western sanctions, Russia still provides oil and gas to other countries around the world, primarily India and China.
Over the last months, Ukraine has carried out increasingly regular attacks on Russian oil refineries with long-range drones.
An attack on March 17 targeted a dozen Russian oil refineries amounting to about 12% of Russia's oil-processing capacity, according to Bloomberg.
Industry data suggests diesel exports will fall to around 2.29 million metric tonnes in April, Bloomberg said, citing industry data.
"That equates to just over 569,000 barrels a day, down 21% compared with actual daily exports of about 724,000 barrels from the same ports in March," Bloomberg said.
These figures do not include "smaller volumes sent to export outlets by rail and outside of Transneft PJSC," Russia's state-controlled pipeline transport company.
In an interview with the Washington Post on March 29, President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that targeting Russian energy infrastructure is a legitimate military strategy.
The strikes serve as retaliation for Russian attacks on critical infrastructure and align with Ukraine's military objectives, Zelensky said.
Igor Kossov
