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.
G7 leaders meet in Hirosima, Japan in May 2023. (Photo credit: Pool/Getty Images)
The G7 has reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with $50 billion by the end of the year using profits from frozen Russian assets, the French presidency said on June 12 in comments reported by AFP.
"We have an agreement," a presidency official said, ahead of a G7 summit in Italy, which starts on June 13.
On June 11, it was reported the G7 will create a fund to support Ukraine using the income generated from frozen Russian assets, Nikkei Asia reported.
The fund will reportedly be created under an international organization such as the World Bank, with contributions in the form of “Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration” (ERA) loans.
While Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the income generated by these funds, approximately $3.2 billion, annually.
By setting up a fund with loans to be repaid using this income, countries can offer immediate support to Ukraine beyond this amount.
The French official quoted by AFP cautioned that "if for some reason or another, if the Russian assets are unfrozen or the proceeds from the Russian assets are not enough to finance the loan, then we'll have to consider how to share the load" of the loan.
The U.S. proposed seizing Russian assets outright in accordance with its recently passed REPO act, but the European Union has been more hesitant, fearing legal and fiscal pitfalls of confiscation.
Instead, Brussels seeks to use windfall profits generated by the frozen assets and funnel them to Kyiv.
Two-thirds of the frozen assets are located within the European Union, much of it held by the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear.
The EU has already established a framework for sending investment income from these assets to Ukraine, and European G7 members do not plan to participate in the new program for now.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
