"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"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.
U.S. Army Special Forces and Danish special operators from the Jaeger Corps learn how to load and unload snowmobiles onto a CH-47G Chinook at the Yukon Training Area at Fort Wainwright military base in North Pole, Alaska, Friday, February 23, 2024. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Canada unveiled a renewed Arctic strategy on Dec. 6, aiming to bolster regional security in response to growing threats from Russia.
The plan includes closer cooperation with the United States, the appointment of an Arctic ambassador, and the establishment of new consulates in Anchorage, Alaska, and Nuuk, Greenland. Ottawa emphasized the urgency of addressing Russian aggression, China's ambitions, and the impacts of global warming, which could open new shipping routes.
Canada plans to initiate Arctic security talks with foreign affairs ministers from other northern nations and strengthen coordination on scientific research in the region. Ottawa will also push forward boundary negotiations with the United States over the Beaufort Sea and complete the implementation of a boundary agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark concerning Hans Island (Tartupaluk).
Canadian officials raised alarms about Russian activity in the Arctic, highlighting its modernization of infrastructure and military capabilities. The policy document noted that the Canadian Forces station in Alert, Nunavut, is closer to Russia's air force base at Nagurskoye than Iqaluit is to Ottawa or Toronto is to Winnipeg.
"The North American Arctic is no longer free from tension. Canada must work even closer with its closest ally, the United States, to maintain a secure North American homeland," the document said, according to CBC.
Canada’s Arctic spans over 4.4 million square kilometers but remains sparsely populated and under-surveyed, with only 16% of its waters adequately mapped.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Martin Fornusek
