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.
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 Ukrainian flag flies over the front-line city of Kupiansk on Nov. 2, 2023. (Kostya Liberov / Libkos via Getty Images)
Russia is ramping up efforts to capture Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, moving reserves of assault battalions to the area to compensate for heavy losses, Volodymyr Fito, the head of the Army's public relations service, said on air on Dec. 16.
Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on Dec. 11 that Russian forces are trying to capture the village of Synkivka in Kharkiv Oblast, hoping to pave the way for the blockade of nearby Kupiansk.
Liberated from Russian occupation in the September 2022 Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kupiansk has been a key target for renewed Russian offensives, as it serves as a key logistics hub for a potential push further south or west.
According to Fito, Russia is utilizing significant amounts of equipment and personnel for the offensive on Kupiansk, which was previously occupied by Russian forces from late February 2022 to Sept. 10, 2022.
The "equipment is more protected" than the Russian soldiers, who are used in heavy numbers for assaults and combat reconnaissance, Fico said.
Moscow has been concentrating a large force at the Kupiansk-Lyman axis in northeastern Ukraine since the summer, and heavy engagements and shelling have been a common occurrence.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced on Nov. 29 that all families with children living in and around Kupiansk had been evacuated to safer regions.
In total, 493 people, including 299 children, living in the three communities in the Kupiansk district were evacuated from their homes following a mandatory evacuation order.
Francis Farrell
