"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.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
Ferenc Krausz addresses a news conference after co-winning the Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 3, 2023 in Garching, Germany. Krausz, who works at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, shares the award with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier for their work on attosecond pulses. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)
The Hungarian-born scientist Ferenc Krausz, who was one of the three joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded on Oct. 3, said that he plans to donate the prize money to a charity he founded last year to help Ukraine.
The day he won the Nobel Prize, Krauz told Deutschlandfunk Radio that he continues to donate any prize money he wins to Science4People, an organization he set up in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Science4People partners with Ukrainian non-profits to provide learning opportunities to schoolchildren and works internationally to help Ukrainian students access higher education for free.
Krausz, who is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier for their research into attosecond physics.
The three scientists will share a prize worth 11 million Swedish krona ($990,400).
Krausz said that over the last year, he has donated money won from prizes, such as from the Frontiers of Knowledge Award he received in February 2023, to Science4People.
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
Alexander Khrebet
