A Russian drone hit a civilian freight train in Donetsk Oblast on May 12 and injured its driver, Ukrainian Railways said amid Kyiv's calls for a ceasefire.
Moscow and Hanoi agreed to negotiate and sign agreements to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement on May 11.
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.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas arrives at the 2024 NATO summit in Washington, DC, US on July 10, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas decried ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine in an interview with AFP published on Feb. 27.
To the dismay of Ukraine and its allies in Europe, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine as a security guarantee against future Russian aggression.
Kallas told AFP during a visit to Washington that there was no reason to offer concessions to Russia before formal peace negotiations even begin, especially given their ongoing occupation of Ukraine.
"My question is, why we should give Russia what they want on top of what they have already done — attacking Ukraine, annexing territory, occupying territory, and now offering something on top of it?"
Kallas likened the proposed concessions to attempts to appease Al Qaeda following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S..
"Consider here in America that after 9/11 you would have sat down with Osama bin Laden and said, 'OK, what else do you want?' I mean, it's unimaginable," she said.
Russia has long advocated against NATO membership for Ukraine and alleged that Ukraine's desire to join the alliance provoked the full-scale invasion — a justification Trump has repeated. Kallas called these claims "totally untrue."
"That is the Russian narrative that we should not buy," she said.
Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, said the Baltic country joined NATO because it is "afraid of Russia," with which it shares a border.
"And the only thing that really works — the only security guarantee that works — is NATO's umbrella," she said.
Europe won't be able to assist Ukraine in an eventual peace deal if the White House does not include European nations in the process, the official added.
Kallas has voiced strong support for Ukraine's defense and urged Western partners to maintain a robust alliance against Russian aggression.
"Russia will try to divide us," Kallas said on Feb. 18 following the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia.
"Let's not walk into their traps. By working together with the U.S., we can achieve a just and lasting peace — on Ukraine's terms."
Amid the shift in U.S. foreign policy, European NATO allies are preparing to send more military aid to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Chris York
