"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.
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.
EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi talks to the media on June 2, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. (Pool/Getty Images)
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi gave an oral update on Ukraine's progress in fulfilling conditions to launch EU membership talks on June 22.
According to the interim assessment broadcasted by SVT Play, Ukraine has fully completed two out of seven steps identified as priorities in the country's application.
One of them is the reform of the judicial system with the creation of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of judges running on a merit-based selection process. Another is bringing media legislation into full compliance with the EU directive.
Varhelyi said that Ukraine has achieved "good progress" in implementing the reform of the Constitutional Court.
"They have adopted the necessary law in the first reading that establishes the solid process, but it is still premature to say because the law has to go through the second reading in Verkhovna Rada, to which amendments can still be tabled until June 24."
The assessment adds that Ukraine has made "some progress" in the remaining four steps, namely the fight against corruption, anti-money laundering measures, de-oligarchization, and the protection of the rights of national minorities.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022, just days after Russia began bombing Kyiv and other cities, starting an all-out war against the country. Ukraine was granted candidacy status in June.
It often takes many years for candidate countries to have accession negotiations opened by the EU. Macron said in May 2022 that it could take "decades" for Ukraine to join the bloc. Meanwhile, Zelensky has said that Ukraine wants to become a member in two years.
