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.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Oct. 17, 2023. (Grigory Sysoyev / Pool / AFP)
The European Union "must not start membership talks with Ukraine," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said to state radio on Nov. 10, as cited by Reuters.
Hungary has a "clear stance" on the issue, he said, and it is not connected to other issues that Hungary has with the EU.
"I would like to make it very clear that the Hungarian rejection of the start of talks with Ukraine over EU membership is not subject to a business deal ...It cannot be linked to the issue of funds that Hungary is entitled to get."
Orban claimed that the EU owes Hungary billions of euros in EU funds that have been suspended since 2022 over concerns about the deteriorating rule of law in the country and rising corruption.
Orban's comments came two days after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Ukraine is not ready for accession to the bloc.
Other Hungarian officials have issued similar statements, providing various reasons why they would oppose Ukraine joining.
The issue of protections for Ukraine's Hungarian minority, especially concerning language rights, has often been mentioned.
A Ukrainian language law instituted in 2017 requires at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian. In response to complaints, Ukrainian officials have said there is no intention to crack down on linguistic minorities but rather to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen has sufficient knowledge of Ukraine's official language.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an amendment to the national minorities law on Nov. 3, expanding the protections for minority languages.
The issue of minority language rights is highly sensitive in Ukraine, as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regularly justified the full-scale invasion as being necessary to protect Russian speakers in the country.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has repeatedly obstructed EU funds for Kyiv while opposing sanctions against Russia. Orban, who maintains close ties with the Kremlin, has refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and claimed that Kyiv's counteroffensive was destined to fail.
Both Orban and Szijjarto have met with high-ranking Russian officials, including Putin, since Feb. 24, 2022. Szijjarto has also traveled to Russia five times since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
A majority of Hungarians have expressed their disapproval of Orban's meeting with Putin at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Oct. 17.
Francis Farrell
