"The clock is ticking — we still have twelve hours until the end of this day," German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius reportedly said.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
"Perhaps in some areas, the intensity decreased slightly to create an image of compliance with their own announcement. But in reality, (Russia) continued attacks every day, using all available weapons — including aircraft to drop guided bombs on Ukraine," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said.
Beijing supports all efforts toward achieving peace in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 12 when asked about Kyiv and Europe's proposal for a 30-day truce.
"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
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.
The number includes 1,170 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
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.
Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi reported that “ongoing battles” were continuing in the salt-mining town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk Oblast on Jan. 13, denying an earlier claim by the Russian Ministry of Defense that the city was fully under Russian control.
Ukrainian officials’ comments come amid contradicting reports about which side holds Soledar, a town with a pre-war population of 10,000 located 10 kilometers north of Bakhmut – a city Russia has tried to capture for more than five months.
Russian militants in eastern Ukraine and Kremlin-run mercenary Wagner Group have made claims that Russia had captured Soledar since Jan. 10, but Ukraine continues to deny the claims.
On the afternoon of Jan. 13, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, which has played an active role in the battle for Soledar alongside Ukraine's 46th Airmobile Brigade, posted photos of a successful strike "near Bakhmut" on a Russian assault group, killing 9 and wounding 16.
Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said that 559 civilians including 15 children remained in the town and could not be evacuated, the BBC reported.
Military analysts dispute Soledar’s strategic significance due to its relatively small size, but seizing it would likely bolster the reputation of the Wagner Group and its head, former convict and personal ally of Vladimir Putin Yevgenii Prigozhin.
In his first message claimining to have taken Soledar on Jan. 10, Prigozhin emphasized the point that no other forces took part in the capture of Soledar but Wagner Group soldiers.
Taking Soledar could also help Russian troops access Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest ongoing battles on the frontline.Control over the city could fuel Russia’s propaganda over a victory after months of failures and setbacks in Russia’s war.

Most Popular

After 3 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe announces plan to ban all Russian gas imports

Journalist Roshchyna's body missing organs after Russian captivity, investigation says

Ukrainian sea drone downs Russian fighter jet in 'world-first' strike, intelligence says

Ukraine is sending the war back to Russia — just in time for Victory Day

'Justice inevitably comes' — Zelensky on deaths of high-ranking Russian officials
Editors' Picks

How medics of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade deal with horrors of drone warfare

As Russia trains abducted children for war, Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them home

'I just hate the Russians' — Kyiv district recovers from drone strike as ceasefire remains elusive
