"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
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.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on August 23, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, approved amendments to the law on national minorities, which is one of the requirements for the country's accession to the EU, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Sept. 21.
The original law, adopted in December 2022, set the definition for ethnic minorities in Ukraine, established their rights and obligations, and provided for the creation of advisory bodies with representatives of minorities.
The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's advisory body that assists Ukraine with implementing steps needed for EU integration, welcomed the law but recommended further changes to fully comply with international standards.
These suggestions related mainly to the use of national minority languages, for example, allowing ethnic minorities to hold events in their own language without the need for Ukrainian translation.
The changes newly adopted by the Rada updated the definition of national minorities, stipulating that "a national minority (community) of Ukraine is a stable group of citizens of Ukraine who are not ethnic Ukrainians, reside within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, are united by common ethnic, cultural, historical, linguistic, and/or religious characteristics, identify themselves as such, and express a desire to preserve and develop their linguistic, cultural, and religious identity."
The law now also allows holding public and cultural events and publishing advertisements fully in the language of national minorities within the given community.
This does not apply to the language of an aggressor country, specifically the Russian language.
The issue of national minorities, mainly the use of minority languages, has put Kyiv at odds with EU members Romania and Hungary.
Ukraine is home to sizeable communities of ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, namely in its southwestern territories.
In a diplomatic row that has gone on for years, Budapest has criticized Ukraine's decision to restrict school education in ethnic minority languages. Hungarian officials called the move discriminatory and even threatened to block Ukraine's EU aspirations.
The measure, instituted in 2017, has also attracted criticism from Romania's President Klaus Iohannis, who said it "drastically limits" the access of minorities to education in their native language.
Ukraine responded that it does not intend to crack down on its minorities, only to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen has sufficient knowledge of Ukraine's official language.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Elsa Court
