"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.
The Belarusian flag flies above tents at a newly-built camp on a site previously used by the Belarusian army that could potentially accommodate up to 5,000 Wagner troops, on July 7, 2023, 90 kilometers southeast of Minsk, near Tsel, Asipovichy District, Belarus. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)
The construction of another camp for Wagner Group fighters has begun in Zyabrovka airfield in Belarus, Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on Aug. 8.
Zyabrovka is located near Gomel in southeastern Belarus, about 40 kilometers from the border with Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine.
The center said that in the future, there is a plan to deploy mercenaries to imitate "subversive activities" on the border with Ukraine.
On July 21, the Ukrainian military reported that Russian sabotage units tried unsuccessfully to cross the Ukrainian border into Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts.
Both regions were invaded and partially occupied during Russia's initial onslaught in February 2022, but the invading forces withdrew in April after the Kremlin's failure to take Kyiv.
Recently, thousands of Wagner fighters have moved into Belarus at Minsk's invitation following the mercenary group's short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in late June.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that he brokered a deal that meant the fighters would leave Russia.
Minsk has claimed that the mercenaries are training the Belarusian military, with exercises taking place in the westernmost Brest Oblast close to the Polish border.
The Polish Defense Ministry said on Aug. 1 that two Belarusian helicopters violated the country's airspace during exercises.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on July 29 that over 100 Wagner mercenaries were also deployed in the Grodno region of Belarus near the Suwalki Gap, from where they could infiltrate into Poland.
The Suwałki Gap is strategically important due to its location sandwiched between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Lithuania, another country that borders Belarus, plans to close two border checkpoints due to the presence of the Wagner Group, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported on Aug. 4, citing Deputy Interior Minister Arnoldas Abramavicius.
Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on July 27 that the paramilitary organization is recruiting fighters in Belarus under the condition that they are ready to participate in hostilities in neighboring countries, such as Poland and Lithuania.
Maria Yeryoma
