"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.
European Council President Charles Michel delivers remarks to journalists in the European Council atrium ahead of an EU leaders' dinner at the European headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 14, 2023. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Council will hold a special summit on Feb. 1, where the EU leaders will discuss the four-year 50-billion-euro ($55 billion) funding package for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said on Dec. 18.
During a recent summit, the EU failed to reach a consensus on the bloc's long-term budget, which includes funds for Ukraine, due to opposition by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban is broadly considered to be close to Moscow and has repeatedly obstructed aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
"Focus on the future of our Union with our special EUCO (European Council summit) on the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) taking place on Feb. 1, our European strategic agenda, and our EUCOs in March and April," Michel wrote on the social media platform X.
At the end of the Dec. 14-15 summit, which ended in an agreement on accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, EU leaders said that a new meeting would be held in early 2024 to re-address the budget issue.
European Commission President von der Leyen said the EU's executive arm would have an "operational solution" to the matter ready by the next summit.
She stressed that 26 of the 27 members supported the funding for Ukraine.
While EU leaders said they would prefer to reach a unanimous decision, von der Leyen noted that alternative options are also considered in case Hungary continues to block the plan.
"It is also necessary to work on potential alternatives to have an operation solution... if unanimity is not possible," von der Leyen noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced confidence that the bloc's remaining members would be able to financially support Ukraine even without Orban's approval.
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.
Olena Goncharova
