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.
Banners with the demands of the protesting truckers are seen hung on trucks during the blockade of the border crossing to Ukraine near Dorohusk town. Nov. 6, 2023. (Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Infrastructure Ministry has launched a humanitarian effort to help truck drivers blocked at three Polish-Ukrainian checkpoints, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov wrote on Facebook on Nov. 19.
Disgruntled Polish truckers have been protesting at three checkpoints since Nov. 6, causing huge lines on both sides of the border. The protestors are demanding limitations on the number of Ukrainian haulers entering Poland.
Drivers are facing tough conditions as temperatures plummet and snow falls in eastern Poland. Kyiv has created a support group to provide Ukrainian drivers with food, drinking water, medicine, and fuel.
“Today, an initiative team is already working at the border, which has 11,000 food kits, drinking water, and necessary medicines,” Kubrakov said.
“The headquarters will work until the border is unblocked and traffic stability through the checkpoints is restored.”
The team is also ready to evacuate some 3,000 Ukrainian drivers stuck on the Polish side if needed.
Lines stretch from 30 kilometers at the Yahodyn checkpoint, to 10 kilometers at the Rava-Ruska checkpoint. Lines are over 16 kilometers long at the Krakivets crossing.
The situation is escalating as negotiations between Ukraine and the protestors earlier this week failed to resolve the situation.
As part of the Solidarity Lanes Initiative, the EU suspended transport permits for Ukrainian drivers last summer to help Ukraine’s struggling export industry following Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. As such, Ukrainian drivers have free movement into neighboring EU states.
The number of Ukrainian haulers entering Poland has increased drastically and protestors argue that local businesses are being undercut. They claim Ukrainian drivers are transporting goods from Poland to third countries at a cheaper rate than what local companies can afford.
Despite the European Council warning Warsaw that it needs to end the blockade, the situation is only getting worse and looks set to spread beyond Poland.
Members representing the road transport industry in Slovakia, Hungary, Czechia, Lithuania, as well as Poland, released a joint statement on Nov. 17 addressed to the EU. They called for Brussels to “consider termination or significant changes to the current EU-Ukraine arrangement without any delay.”
Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Elsa Court
