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.
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
An aerial shot of a burning ammunition depot in 2014 in Vrbetice, Czechia. (Fire Department of the Zlin region)
Russian military intelligence operatives were responsible for deadly ammunition depot explosions in Czechia in 2014, the Czech police said on April 29 following a three-year-long investigation.
The Czech authorities announced back in 2021 that they had received evidence of Russian involvement in the explosions that killed two people in the eastern town of Vrbetice in October and December 2014.
Prague subsequently expelled 18 Russian diplomats who were identified as spies.
"The law enforcement agency can confirm that the explosions of both ammunition depots were carried out by members of the Russian military intelligence agency... also known as the GRU," the Czech police said in a press release.
The goal of the Russian operatives was to "prevent arms and ammunition deliveries to areas where the Russian military was active," the statement read.
Media reports emerged in 2021 that the ammunition was supposed to be transferred either to Ukraine or to Syria, reportedly for the Syrian opposition battling the regime of Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia. The company that owned the supplies disputed these claims.
The police did not name the suspects but said that they had belonged to the notorious GRU Unit 29155, associated with assassinations and destabilization operations outside of Russia.
The Czech media outlet Seznam Zpravy wrote in 2021 that law enforcement agencies suspected Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga of carrying out the bombings. The two operatives are also believed to be responsible for the attempted assassination of Russian defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K. in 2018.
The Czech police said it did not press charges and postponed further steps, as the suspected perpetrators are under Russia's protection.
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.
Martin Fornusek
