"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.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
The comments came after Trump urged Ukraine to agree to direct negotiations with Russia, which has invited Kyiv to peace talks in Istanbul on May 15, without first agreeing to halt military operations.
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.
Kazakhstan's Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebayev (Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan)
Editor's note: Kazakhstan's Trade Ministry later refuted the statements attributed by local media to Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebayev. The ministry's press statement said that no export bans were imposed in connection with the anti-Russia sanctions but that all trade in dual-use goods is carried out in accordance with Kazakhstan's international obligations. We have reported on the latest developments here: Kazakhstan denies banning export of 106 dual-use goods to Russia.
Kazakhstan has stopped exporting 106 types of goods with potential military applications to Russia "in connection with the global situation," the zakon.zk news outlet reported on Oct. 19, citing the country's Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebayev.
These products include "drones, internal components, specialized electronics, chips," and similar goods, that is, equipment that could be used for military purposes, Torebayev said.
Astana has received criticism for allowing Moscow to circumvent international sanctions imposed on Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. This included importing and then re-exporting goods that the Russian defense industry uses for arms production.
During his visit to Berlin in late September, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that Astana will "definitely comply" with the sanctions regime against Russia.
Both the U.S. and the EU said they will seek to curb the Kremlin's ability to dodge sanctions. The European Commission warned earlier that if diplomatic channels are insufficient to prevent third-party countries from re-exporting sanctioned products, the European bloc can ban exports to those states as well.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Alexander Khrebet
