Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
The comments came after Trump urged Ukraine to agree to direct negotiations with Russia, which has invited Kyiv to peace talks in Istanbul on May 15, without first agreeing to halt military operations.
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.
Tug boats escort the STI Comandante tanker after a delivery of Russian diesel to a fuel terminal in Purfleet, U.K., on April 5, 2022. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Denmark is negotiating with a coalition of countries possible measures to step in against Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said in an interview with Danwatch and Information published on June 16.
The "shadow fleet" is a group of older and often uninsured vessels used by Russia to ship out its oil while avoiding international sanctions, namely the $60-per-barrel price cap.
"On the Danish side, we have assembled a circle of countries that will look at the possibilities for further measures against the shadow fleet," Rasmussen saidin the interview.
"It is important that all new initiatives can be implemented in practice and are legally sustainable."
The minister refused to discuss specific measures or countries involved in the negotiations but said that Denmark leads talks with the Baltic countries and the EU regarding Russian oil shipments.
Any Danish move to restrict the freedom of navigation of Russian ships in the Baltic straits will be seen as a hostile act and draw retaliation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in May.
The Swedish Navy warned in April that the activities of the "shadow fleet" may go beyond circumventing sanctions, as these vessels may also be conducting espionage in the Baltic Sea.
The EU, the U.S., and other of Ukraine's partners have imposed extensive sanctions against vessels helping Russia to dodge sanctions on oil.
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.
Mykola Kolisnyk
