"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.
Aftermath of the Russian attack on an apartment building in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Oblast, on the evening of March 12, 2024. (Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office)
A Russian attack on a five-story apartment building in the town of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast killed two people and injured five, oblast governor Vadym Filashkin said on March 13.
Russia dropped a Grom-E1 bomb on Myrnohrad at around 11 p.m. on March 12, damaging four houses, according to authorities.
"Among the wounded, one person is in serious condition and three are in moderate condition," Filashkin said, urging people to evacuate from Donetsk Oblast due to constant Russian shelling.
A 13-year-old girl was rescued from the rubble of the five-story building. She was not injured, the governor said.
Aftermath of the Russian attack on an apartment building in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Oblast, on the evening of March 12, 2024. (Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office)
Donetsk Oblast, partially occupied by Russian forces since 2014, suffers regular attacks, and local officials report losses among the civilian population virtually on a daily basis.
Over the past day, Russia attacked two more residential high-rise buildings in Ukraine.
In Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, four people were killed, and 44 others were injured in the attack. At least eight residents of a destroyed five-story building were injured in Sumy, three people are considered missing.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Francis Farrell
