The sanctions appear to be in response to Russia's rejection of a 30-day ceasefire that the U.K., alongside Ukraine, France, Germany, and Poland, demanded during a visit to Kyiv on May 10.
"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.
Ukrainian soldiers on an armored infantry vehicle on the road to Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Feb. 14, 2024. (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)
Ukraine’s ammunition shortage caused by delays in U.S. aid could soon lead to a Russian breakthrough on the front lines, a sobering assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.
In its latest report on March 13, the ISW highlighted that Ukraine is being forced to ration critical ammunition – in particular, artillery shells – and prioritize allocation based on those areas currently facing the most intense Russian attacks.
With Moscow’s forces currently holding the initiative in the war and being able to determine the “time, location, and scale of offensive operations,” this leaves other areas of the front-line highly vulnerable.
The situation was recently acknowledged by Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi who in a post on Telegram on March 13 said “the situation is gradually becoming more difficult and there is a threat of enemy units advancing deep into our battle formations.”
Syrskyi did not specify which areas he was referring to but said units holding these positions would be reinforced with “reserves, ammunition, electronic warfare equipment, which will further ensure the stability of our defense on this part of the front.”
According to the ISW, the current front line is not stable, and “timely Western resourcing of Ukrainian troops is essential to prevent Russia from identifying and exploiting an opportunity for a breakthrough on a vulnerable sector of the front.”
Syrskyi on March 13 said Russia continues to advance near the settlements of Terny, Ivanivske, Berdychi, Tonenke in Donetsk Oblast and Verbove and Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
In other sectors of the front, which Syrskyi did not specify, the activity of Russian forces “has noticeably decreased,” the general said, suggesting that this followed Russia’s "extremely heavy losses" after two weeks of fierce fighting.
“This happened due to timely managerial decisions to strengthen the defense of this sector of the front, timely replacement of units which lost their combat capability, as well as due to the courage and resilience of our soldiers,” Syrskyi said.
But the ISW warned that such changes in the tempo of Russian attacks could also signify the “reprioritization of offensive efforts” as Moscow’s forces attempt to break through in other areas of the front line.
While this gives Kyiv’s forces a chance to regroup, rearm and counterattack, the Kremlin may believe Ukraine’s ammunition shortage makes the risk of such operational pauses worthwhile, the ISW said.
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.
Dinara Khalilova
