"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.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gestures as he talks to the media after arriving at the European headquarters for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels on Dec. 14, 2023. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
Hungary has obstructed the European Union's endorsement of a financial assistance package for Ukraine consisting of 50 billion euros ($55 billion), following EU leaders' formal approval to commence accession negotiations with Ukraine, marking a significant milestone for Kyiv in its efforts to strengthen support from its allies.
"Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on social media after talks in Brussels. EU leaders said talks on aid for Ukraine would resume early next year.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, overseeing the proceedings, informed the media that 26 EU member countries expressed support for providing financial assistance to Ukraine, with one member withholding approval.
“One leader couldn’t agree on this,” Michel said at a news conference at 3 a.m. local time on Dec. 15, according to the New York Times. Michel added that the leaders would reconvene to try to secure unanimity —which is required for this decision — in “early January.”
Orban, known for previously impeding certain EU sanctions against Russia and perceived as President Vladimir Putin's foremost ally within the bloc, said earlier on Dec. 14 that the assistance should be provided only after the upcoming Europe-wide elections scheduled for the summer.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Anastasiia Malenko
