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.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
A tram goes down the city street in Lviv, Ukraine on April 7, 2023. (Pavlo Palamarchuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is allocating an additional €30.7 million ($32 million) to Ukraine for infrastructure development projects covering municipal reconstruction and urban public transport, the lender announced Oct. 12.
Funding will cover Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy, Lutsk, and Lviv, and is aimed at modernization initiatives to ensure critical municipal needs are met.
The EIB package includes €22 million ($23.1 million) for modern buses and trams and €8.7 million ($9.1 million) for other initiatives including landfill reclamation, energy-efficient measures in schools, and better water and drainage systems.
"This new funding underlines our commitment to support not only the immediate relief, but also the long-term reconstruction of the country. Regardless of whether it is a new tram connection or improving local services, everything we do is aimed at promoting economic recovery and normalizing the everyday life of the war-torn Ukrainian people,” the bank’s chief said.
In 2022 the EIB allocated €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion) to Ukraine for energy infrastructure repair efforts and has provided over €4 billion ($4.2 billion) for emergency humanitarian assistance.
"These funds, backed by an EU guarantee, are another contribution to financing the urgent needs of Ukraine, which seeks to restore basic services damaged by Russian aggression. This is part of the steady support of Ukraine from the European Union, which remains unchanged, an EU Commission official said.
The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender.
Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.
Martin Fornusek
