Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
The comments came after Trump urged Ukraine to agree to direct negotiations with Russia, which has invited Kyiv to peace talks in Istanbul on May 15, without first agreeing to halt military operations.
A Russian drone hit a civilian freight train in Donetsk Oblast on May 12 and injured its driver, Ukrainian Railways said amid Kyiv's calls for a ceasefire.
Moscow and Hanoi agreed to negotiate and sign agreements to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement on May 11.
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.
Ukrainian soldiers conduct operation with BMP-3 military vehicle at training camp amid Russia-Ukraine war in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on May 11, 2023. (Vincenzo Circosta/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In the past two days, Ukraine's Armed Forces have advanced on the flanks around Bakhmut from 350 meters to 2 kilometers "in some places," a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command said on May 15.
"However, the enemy is fiercely resisting," Serhii Cherevatyi said on national television, as cited by Interfax Ukraine.
According to the official, 34 combat clashes occurred in the Bakhmut area over the previous 24 hours, with Russian forces firing at Ukrainian positions 479 times. During this period, the Ukrainian military reportedly killed 149 Russian soldiers, wounded 160, and captured six more in the fighting over Ukraine's key eastern city.
"In fact, Bakhmut is now a bifurcation point, a point of resolution of this conflict, because if the enemy does not find an opportunity to replenish its forces there, then we will simply destroy it," added Cherevatyi.
Ukrainian forces have recently retaken more than 10 Russian-held positions on the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on May 14.
Recent failures around Bakhmut are likely connected with the escalating feud between the Russian Defense Ministry and Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, which has led the assault on Bakhmut for months.
While Wagner leads the attacks inside the city, which have themselves stalled, the flanks where Ukrainian forces have advanced are manned by regular army units.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed a renewed wave of Ukrainian counterattacks on May 14 and admitted that two colonels – including a brigade commander – were recently killed in the Battle of Bakhmut.
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Francis Farrell
