The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"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.
"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.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is "playing along with Russian aggression," Ukraine's Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on April 27.
Earlier this year, a media investigation found that Russia's national branch, the Russian Red Cross (RRC), violated its core principles of neutrality and independence by expanding operations into occupied territories of Ukraine while also using Russian government funds to mold it into a propaganda tool.
Only the International Committee of the Red Cross is allowed to operate in war zones. National branches of the Red Cross can work in other countries only with the permission of the hosting state, and Ukraine has not extended such permission to the RRC.
Lubinets said that the ICRC claims that the RRC does not have a presence in the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, but "not a single word has been said that the Red Cross operates on the territory of Crimea."
The Russian branch also "stole the property of the national Red Cross Society of Ukraine in Crimea," Lubinets added.
He also criticized alleged associations between the RRC and the Russian government-owned "summer camp" Artek. Artek has received Ukrainian children placed in "patriotic" re-education programs and prevented from returning to their families, while the camp's director has organized Russian military and patriotic camps for Ukrainian children in Crimea.
Last month, Lubinets called on the ICRC to launch an investigation into the activities of the RRC for violating principles of neutrality.
"Previously, the media reported that the Russian Red Cross cooperated with the Artek camp in occupied Crimea. It was also said that the director of this camp was sanctioned for his involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children. At the same time, the federation's conclusions currently state only that 'partnership with the Artek camp requires a serious review.' These words are pitiful because when there are facts, action is needed, not consideration of the situation from different sides," Lubinets said.
Lubinets stated that the ICRC's response seems like an attempt to save the reputation of the RRC while also exposing the powerlessness and obsolescence of the system.
According to the Ukrainian Ombudsman, the ICRC promised to "introduce courses on international humanitarian law" to the staff of the RRC to "better hide their [RRC's] crimes."
"At the same time, it is said that in the future, the group of the federation, which was created to check the actions of the RRC, will provide its conclusions within the next four months. I consider such actions on the part of the ICRC to be a direct abetment of the aggression of the Russian Federation," he added.
Previous investigations into the RRC revealed that supposed RRC employees insulted and abused Ukrainian prisoners of war. Additionally, under the leadership of Pavel Savchuk, a Kremlin loyalist who held a position in the pro-Vladimir Putin All-Russia People's Front (ONF) political group, the RRC has reportedly cooperated with sanctioned organizations involved in raising funds for the Russian military.
The RRC has also handed out awards for "humanitarian contributions" to companies creating weapons used against Ukraine. For example, the Avangard factory, which produces S-300 and S-400 missiles, was reportedly awarded by the RRC for increasing blood donations from its workers.
The RRC's staff have made public statements in support of Russia's war, promoting Russian propaganda narratives.
Lubinets said that the new ICRC chief, Kate Forbes, is ready to hold a meeting with him, during which he plans to raise these issues.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Dinara Khalilova
