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.
Polish soldiers are seen during a training session at the Nowa Deba training ground on May 6, 2023 in Nowa Deba, Poland. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Close to 50% of Poles believe that a Russian attack on Poland is "likely," according to a survey released by the Polish media outlet RMF24 on Feb. 22.
The survey results correspond with growing concerns that the West doesn't take the risk of a potential war between Russia and NATO in the near future seriously. NATO militaries have strengthened their capacity and preparedness since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but NATO officials have warned in recent months that such preparations may not be enough to avert a continent-wide war.
The 47% of Polish respondents who said that a Russian attack on Poland was probable represented a 16% increase from when a similar poll was conducted in May 2023.
The poll also found that Poles were pessimistic about the prospects of a Ukrainian victory, with only 17% believing it would be possible. The figure aligned with a poll released by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on Feb. 21, in which on average, only 10% of Europeans thought Ukraine would win the war.
While only 14% of respondents to the RMF poll said that they thought Russia would win, a plurality (47%) believed that the war "will last for many years and will result in the destruction of both countries."
Recent polling in the U.S. resulted in similar conclusions.
A survey released on Feb. 13 by the Quincy Institute and the Harris Poll found that only 12% of Americans believed Ukraine would win the war.
Almost 70% said that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden should push for Ukraine to "engage in diplomatic negotiations with Russia and the U.S. as soon as possible" to end the war.
At the same time, according to another poll released by the Pew Institute on Feb. 16, an overwhelming majority (74%) of U.S. respondents said that the war in Ukraine was important to national interests.
As the U.S. commitment to NATO is increasingly in question due to presidential candidate Donald Trump's potential election in 2024 and his controversial remarks about the alliance, Poland has pledged to significantly increase the size of its armed forces.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in September 2023 that he believed Poland would soon amass a force of 300,000 soldiers, making it the largest land army in Europe.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Nate Ostiller
