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.
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.
Illustrative photo: a line of trucks en route to Romania queue at the Porubne-Siret border crossing in Porubne, Ukraine, on Dec. 17, 2022. (Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The European Commission on March 5 proposed to prolong a road transport agreement with Ukraine and Moldova while introducing additional measures to the Ukraine deal "based on lessons learned."
The EU signed the agreement with the two Eastern European countries in 2022 to liberalize road transport shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The provisions were later extended until June 2024.
The agreement sparked protests among carriers in some EU members, namely in Poland, who claimed that their Ukrainian competitors were driving them out of business. Polish protesters blocked several border crossings with Ukraine between November 2023 and January 2024, leading to tensions between the two countries.
"On the basis of exchanges with Member States, Ukraine, and stakeholders, the Commission has taken into account lessons learned from the implementation of the current EU–Ukraine transport agreement," the Commission's statement read.
While maintaining the original scope of the agreement, the EU's executive arm proposed to make it obligatory for truckers to carry documents authorizing them for international transport and certifying that an unladen operation is directly linked to a transit or bilateral operation.
The compliance of carriers with the agreement's provisions should be strengthened to counter fraud or forgery of driver documents and road safety-related traffic offenses.
The Commission also proposed a new safeguard clause, under which the agreement could be suspended in a specific geographical area if it leads to a "major disturbance" in that area.
The proposals have been submitted to the EU Council, which needs to give the Commission a mandate to negotiate with Ukraine and Moldova.
"The temporary transport agreements with Ukraine and Moldova have helped the two countries' exports and imports moving after they lost essential transport routes due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean said.
"At the same time, they may affect differently road transport operators across the Union. This is why, with today's proposal on the agreement with Ukraine, we have also looked at how we can improve the agreement further by making its implementation and enforcement easier and introducing a safeguard clause in case of negative impacts on regional markets in the EU."
Ukraine's road exports to the EU have risen significantly since the agreement was first implemented: by about two-thirds in terms of volume transported and by about one-third in terms of value.
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.
Dinara Khalilova
