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.
A participant prepares to practice tactical and live-fire exercise on a training ground of one of the military battalions during the final testing of women's army combat uniform samples on July 12, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo credit: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Defense Ministry purchased last year $33 million worth of "winter" clothes for the military, which were in fact summer attire, according to an investigation by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia published on Aug. 10
The Defense Ministry reportedly did not secure on time the import of fabric from Asia to produce winter attire for soldiers, the investigation said.
As winter approached, the ministry signed a contract with the Turkish company Vector avia hava yukleteri for the supply of winter clothing.
The company provided 233,000 jackets worth $20 million and 202,000 pairs of trousers worth $13 million, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia said, citing Ukrainian customs officers.
Based on data obtained by the journalists, the jackets provided by the Turkish company weighed only 1.1 kilograms. In comparison, Chinese jackets offered by a Bulgarian supplier weighed 2 kilograms. According to Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, this matches the difference in weight between summer and winter jackets.
Dzerkalo Tyzhnia also uncovered manipulation with the documents accompanying the shipment. The price of a batch of 4,900 jackets worth $142,000 was in another document "amended" to $421,000.
The journalists said that the margin of the profit remained with the Turkish company Vector avia hava yukleteri, owned by Ukrainian Roman Plentov from Zaporizhzhia.
In a subsequent criminal investigation, the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise established that the "winter" jackets and trousers supplied by the Turkish company "cannot be used for their intended purpose."
Dzerkalo Tyzhnia's investigation from January revealed that the armed forces had been trying to procure food at prices that were several times higher than in Kyiv grocery stores. The corruption scandal sparked rumors about a possible replacement of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov until President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Reznikov would remain in his post.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
