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.
Russian soldiers wearing a WWII-era Red Army winter uniform walk with barrage balloons as they take part in a rehearsal of a ceremony to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the 1941 parade at the Red Square in Moscow, on November 6, 2015. (Vasily Maximov/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russian government plans to build a network of barrage balloons, called the "Barrier" protection system, to repel Ukrainian long-range drone strikes, The Telegraph reported on July 6.
Ukrainian forces regularly conduct drone strikes and sabotage acts on Russian territory, targeting military bases, oil refineries, and industrial facilities, the profits of which fuel Moscow's war efforts.
A Russian aerospace firm, First Airship, has developed a ballon prototype and started testing it, according to The Telegraph.
Polina Albek, the general director of First Airship, announced that her company had received its first orders for the balloons.
The balloons are reportedly capable of holding up a net that aims to protect energy infrastructure and other key targets deep inside Russia from Ukrainian strikes.
The balloons will be stationed in hangars. From there, they will rise quickly in a row and then drop a 250-m-tall net to create a defensive construction in the air.
Each balloon can reportedly rise 300 meters above the ground, carrying a maximum load of 30kg, which is enough to carry a light net, The Telegraph reported.
The aircraft can also be equipped with radar, electronic jammers, and video cameras, which provide 360-degree views and have a range of up to 7 miles (around 11 km).
"These capabilities allow for substantial vertical coverage, creating an effective barrier against low-flying drones that threaten sensitive locations. The drones cannot see the mesh net, it is too thin for them," Albek claimed.
Albek added that the balloon can be fitted with a "vacuum gun" to intercept drones, shooting an "ultra light and ultra strong" net at them.
Russia has already used air balloons in its war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's Air Force reported last year that the Russian military used reflective hot air balloons over Kyiv to confuse air defense before launching real missile and drone attacks.
Barrage balloons were used extensively in the First and Second World Wars as well.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Kateryna Denisova
