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.
Olzhas Bektenov. (Press Service of Kazakhstan's Presidential Office)
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed his chief of staff, Olzhas Bektenov, to be Kazakhstan's new prime minister following the resignation of Tokayev's former cabinet.
President Tokayev accepted the resignation of his previous government, including former Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, just a day earlier. The Kazakh leader then named Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar as acting prime minister before appointing Bektenov to be his replacement.
The reason for the government's resignation was not immediately clear.
According to the regional news outlet Eurasianet, Bektenov has worked in several spheres of the Kazakh government over the years, including in the prime minister's office and, most recently, as President Tokayev's chief of staff, a job he has performed since April.
Bektenov also directed Kazakhstan's Anti-Corruption Agency, or Antikor, between Feb. 2022 and April 2023. He reportedly criticized the efforts of the agency's work upon taking the position
Despite Astana's historically close ties to Moscow, President Tokayev has taken a cautious approach to the full-scale war, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories in 2022.
At the same time, Tokayev has not completely abandoned his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Kazakhstan in November 2023.
"Our strategic partnership is truly forward-looking," Putin commented ahead of the trip and meeting with Tokayev.
Tokayev has said that the country will comply with the sanctions regime against Russia, and Kazakh officials have said the export of military goods to Russia ceased shortly after the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Astana has also received criticism for allowing Moscow to circumvent international sanctions imposed on Russia over its aggression against Ukraine.
Katie Marie Davies
