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.
Russian soldiers patrol a street in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on May 1, 2022. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Getty Images)
The explosions in occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast killed Russian soldiers and destroyed their military equipment, according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
HUR claimed to have orchestrated a joint attack with local resistance against a group of Russian serviceman in the city on March 22.
The alleged footage of an attack on Russian forces in occupied Melitopol on March 22, 2024. (Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR)/Telegram)
Melitopol, a city with a pre-war population of about 150,000 people, has been occupied since March 2022. The Ukrainian resistance has been active here since then, targeting Russian military personnel and facilities.
"According to preliminary data, about 20 Russian soldiers, two Kamaz trucks and a UAZ Patriot pickup truck were at the epicenter of the explosions," the agency wrote on Telegram, saying that the losses are being clarified.
The Kyiv Independent couldn't verify these claims.
Military intelligence occasionally reports on resistance forces' operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Several cases of explosions at Melitopol's railway infrastructure have been reported since Russia occupied the city.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Francis Farrell
