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.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (L) and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in Kyiv on Jan. 27, 2024. (Dmytro Kuleba/X)
Suspected Russian jamming of GPS systems aboard commercial flights is "too dangerous to ignore," Baltic foreign ministers have warned, after it was revealed two Finnish aircraft were forced to turn around mid-journey in recent days.
Russia has been accused of jamming GPS signals in nearby countries such as Finland as far back as the 2010s, but incidents have sky-rocketed in recent months, particularly over the Baltic Sea.
According to a report by The Sun based on data from the website GPSJAM.org, some 46,000 aircraft have reported problems over the Baltic Sea since last August, with most of them occurring in Eastern Europe near borders with Russia.
Speaking to the Financial Times (FT) over the weekend, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, sounded the alarm over the escalating problem.
"If someone turns off your headlights while you’re driving at night, it gets dangerous," he said, adding: "Things in the Baltic region near Russian borders are now getting too dangerous to ignore."
On April 25 and 26, two Finnair flights from Helsinki to the Estonian city of Tartu experienced GPS jamming and turned around mid-flight.
Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, laid the blame firmly on Russia.
"We consider what is happening with GPS as part of Russia’s hostile activities, and we will definitely discuss it with our allies," she said.
"Such actions are a hybrid attack and are a threat to our people and security, and we will not tolerate them."
Latvia's Foreign Minister, Baiba Braze, said his country was taking the incidents "seriously" and was in touch with international partners over the issue.
The NATO and Lithuanian flags fly over the summit venue on July 09, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Several recent incidents of jamming have highlighted the issue. Most notably, Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal of a Royal Air Force aircraft used to transport U.K. Defence Minister Grant Shapps.
The aircraft, which was traveling back to Britain from Poland on March 13, was jammed for about 30 minutes as it flew by Russia's Kaliningrad region.
GPS signal and internet on board the aircraft were inaccessible for the duration of the aircraft's flight near Kaliningrad where the jamming signals are thought to originate.
A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the incident at the time, noting it was "not unusual."
Aircraft rely on GPS for navigation but the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) played down the risk to passenger safety.
"Aviation is one of the safest forms of air travel, and there are several safety protocols in place to protect navigation systems on commercial aircraft," Glenn Bradley, the head of flight operations at the CAA, told the Guardian.
"GPS jamming does not directly impact the navigation of an aircraft, and while it is a known issue, this does not mean an aircraft has been jammed deliberately."
Chris York
