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.
People burn Sweden's flag during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan on July 9, 2023, as they protest against the burning of the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque that outraged Muslims around the world. Leaked Russian intelligence documents obtained by Finnish media show that Russia sought to exploit the protests as a means of disrupting Sweden's accession to NATO. (Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian intelligence services planned a series of disruptive activities to try to prevent, or at least hinder, Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO, the Finnish media outlet YLE reported on Dec. 4, citing leaked Russian intelligence documents.
The documents were initially obtained by the independent Russian anti-corruption project Dossier Center, YLE said.
The planned activities, which YLE said did not appear to have actually taken place in Finland, sought to increase discord between Turkey and other NATO countries, especially Sweden, as the two Nordic countries began the process of joining the alliance.
Russia allegedly tried to inflame tensions that erupted after a series of public burnings of the Quran in Sweden in early 2023, which resulted in protests breaking out around the Muslim world.
The Quran burnings also caused a diplomatic dispute between Sweden and Turkey, complicating the process of Sweden's accession to NATO.
The Swedish government accused Russia of spreading disinformation about the incidents, saying that it had sponsored the publication of articles in Arabic that claimed that the Swedish government was in favor of the Quran burnings.
Both Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance in May 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked both bids but gave the green light to Finland's accession in March. A unanimous vote of all members, including Turkey, is required for a new member to be admitted.
The leaked documents also included plans to mock Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including promoting anti-Turkish protests and spreading anti-Erdogan graffiti around Europe.
Although Erdogan signed a long-awaited protocol on Sweden's NATO accession on Oct. 23, its final approval has been delayed by the Turkish parliament.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Alexander Khrebet
