A Russian drone hit a civilian freight train in Donetsk Oblast on May 12 and injured its driver, Ukrainian Railways said amid Kyiv's calls for a ceasefire.
Moscow and Hanoi agreed to negotiate and sign agreements to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement on May 11.
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.
A Ukrainian robot performs battlefield functions. The Defense Ministry reported May 10 that nine such robots have been put into operation since the start of 2024. (Defense Ministry / Telegram)
Nine land-based Ukrainian robotic complexes have been put into operation since the beginning of the year, the Defense Ministry announced on May 10.
The robots perform a variety of battlefield functions, minimizing risks to Ukrainian troops, the ministry said. Tasks include combat with machine guns, demining, and evacuating wounded soldiers.
"Many domestic manufacturers are currently focused on the production of robotic systems in order to increase the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and save the lives of our soldiers," said Defense Ministry representative Colonel Volodymyr Rochniak.
"Only since the beginning of 2024, nine land-based robotic complexes created by Ukrainian gunsmiths have been codified."
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on March 12 that Ukraine plans to mass-produce unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in order to reduce human involvement on the front lines.
These mobile robots will be capable of mining, demining, operating attack drones, evacuating wounded soldiers, and transporting ammunition.
Ukraine faces a personnel crisis on the battlefield as the nation struggles to mobilize new conscripts. In April, the parliament passed a bill updating the rules on mobilization to help replenish the Armed Forces' ranks.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
