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.
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.
Polish farmers take part in a protest against the EU Green Deal and the import of Ukrainian grain in Warsaw, Poland on March 6, 2024. (Omar Marques/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Polish protesters have completely lifted their blockade at the Medyka-Shehyni crossing at the Polish-Ukrainian border, Ukraine's Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Hromadske on March 21.
Polish farmers began blocking trucks at six border crossings, including Medyka-Shehyni, in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal.
A blockade at one of the checkpoints – Korczowa-Krakovets – was lifted earlier this month. Protests are ongoing at the remaining four crossings: Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, Dorohusk-Yahodyn, Zosin-Ustyluh, and Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv.
Protesters at the Medyka-Shehyni crossing initially announced shortly before noon on March 20 that they would start restricting the passage of buses, in addition to trucks. At around 9 p.m. Kyiv time, Ukrainian border guards received information that the blockade at this crossing would be lifted completely, Demchenko said.
As of the morning of March 21, 850 trucks are waiting in lines in Poland at the four blocked crossings, with the most problematic being Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Dorohusk-Yahodyn.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
