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.
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.
Refugees from Ukraine stand on a platform at the Messebahnhof Laatzen station in Laatzen, Germany after their arrival on April 15, 2023. (Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The arrival of Ukrainian refugees into the European Union has had a positive effect on the European labor market, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit said in an interview with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty on Oct. 17.
According to the latest EU figures, 1.87 million Ukrainians in 19 European countries have signed an employment contract.
In the 11 EU member states that are part of Central and Eastern Europe (known as CEE countries), over 60% of Ukrainians who registered as job seekers found employment, Schmit said.
"This has had a certain impact on improving the labor shortage situation in many European labor markets," said Schmidt.
Ukrainians can work in the EU due to the bloc's Temporary Protection Directive, which entitles Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion to access shelter, healthcare, education, and employment.
The protection lasts until March 2025, having been extended since March 4, 2022, when the EU first implemented the measure. The protection cannot be extended for more than three years.
However, Schmit said he also understands that the Ukrainian government wants its citizens who are currently in the EU to return to rebuild the country as soon as the war is over.
"These people are needed" to contribute to Ukraine's economy and rebuilding, which will help its accession to the EU, he said.
However, if Ukrainians want to stay and work in Europe, they should be allowed to do so, though no decision has yet been made on a framework for this, he added.
According to Ukraine's Center for Economic Strategy (CES), 63% of Ukrainians currently residing abroad plan to return to their country, yet the conditions and time frame for the return remain unclear.
The center estimates that 5.6 million and 6.7 million Ukrainians were living abroad at the end of June 2023. Most of them, an estimated 4.8 million, live in EU member states or in the U.K.
Daria Shulzhenko
