"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.
A view of the 57th Motor Rifle Brigade as it fires artillery on the front line near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2023, amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces are "making progress" near Bakhmut, while Russian troops get "trapped" in some areas, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Telegram on July 9.
He did not provide further details.
On July 8, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported that intense fighting had resumed in Bakhmt, with Ukrainian forces making gains along the northern and southern parts of the city.
According to the ministry, Russian officials "almost certainly see it as politically unacceptable to concede Bakhmut" given its symbolic importance as one of the few "victories" claimed by the Russian military in recent months.
However, Russian forces are struggling to hold the city, the ministry asssessed.
The battle of Bakhmut raged for over 10 months, with Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin declaring at the end of May that his forces had captured the city.
Wagner's forces gradually began to retreat from the city to be replaced by the regular Russian army.
Ukrainian officials never formally acknowledged the loss of Bakhmut, and Ukrainian forces have been engaged in combat with the Russian military along the city's outskirts since late May.
Asami Terajima
