"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 skyline of Tallinn, Estonia, on Oct. 16, 2016. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Estonia's ruling Reform Party introduced legislation to strip the voting rights of non-citizens, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Russians, the Estonian media outlet ERR reported on April 1. The proposal would only impact local elections.
Tensions between Moscow and Tallinn have significantly sharpened since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.
Estonia has been one of the leading military donors to Ukraine in terms of share of GDP since the beginning of the all-out war in 2022. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a member of the Reform Party, and other Estonian politicians have also been particularly outspoken about the threat that Russia poses to Europe.
Around one-third of Estonia's population consists of ethnic Russians. Around 83,000 are Russian citizens, and according to various estimates, some 80,000 are stateless and have no citizenship. The bulk of non-citizens are also ethnic Russians.
Previous bills have been floated by the Estonian government, which has said the reasoning derives from a concern that the ability of Russian citizens to vote could be a national security threat.
"This is a matter of security, and Tallinn simply throwing its hands up and refusing to address it is comical," said lawmaker Riina Solman.
"Estonian language and pro-Estonian sentiment are a priority for us, which we will use to remove Russian influence from Tallinn city management," Solman added.
Toma Istomina
