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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media during a press conference on Feb. 24, 2023, in Kyiv. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian forces will have an "open road" to seize other critical settlements in eastern Ukraine if they capture Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN, reiterating his bid to continue the city's defense.
"This is tactical for us… after Bakhmut, they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk," Zelensky said in an interview from Kyiv. "That's why our guys are standing there."
The report comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to Ukrainians that there was consensus between him and Ukraine's top military leadership that Ukrainian forces should continue to hold the city.
Citing unnamed sources in the Ukrainian government, Bild reported on March 6 that Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi disagree on how the military should handle the situation in Bakhmut.
The battle for Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk Oblast, has been raging for the past seven months. The Russian military is attempting to increase its grip over the entirety of the oblast, around half of which it currently occupies.
Zelensky also told CNN that "Russia needs at least some victory – a small victory – even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there," adding that if Russia can "put their little flag" on top of Bakhmut, it would help "mobilize their society to create this idea they're such a powerful army."
Around March 2, Russian forces reportedly destroyed the only paved bridge still under Ukrainian control, and with the coming of spring, muddy unpaved roads are "likely" making Ukraine's resupply efforts more difficult.
Despite a recent claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian state-backed mercenary Wagner Group, that Bakhmut is "practically surrounded," Zelensky insisted this is exactly what Ukraine aims to avoid.
"We have to think about our people first, and no one should be surrounded, encircled – this is very important," he said, as quoted by CNN.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on March 6 that Bakhmut had more "symbolic" value than a "strategic one" for the Ukrainian military, and he predicted that Ukraine's potential withdrawal from the city would not cause any major setbacks in the war.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
