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.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his press conference at the Third Belt and Road Forum on October 18, 2023, in Beijing, China. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 18 that the U.S. made a "great mistake" by providing Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles, which have reportedly dealt significant damage to Russian forces in a recent attack.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, where the Russian dictator arrived for the Belt and Road Forum, Putin admitted that the newly provided weaponry creates an "additional threat" to Russian forces.
However, the Kremlin's leader voiced confidence that the Russian military would be capable of repelling ATACMS strikes and that the long-range missiles were "fundamentally incapable of changing the situation" at the front.
According to Putin, the provision of ATACMS to Kyiv was a mistake as it would supposedly lead only to "prolonging the agony" of Ukrainians.
"And finally, a greater mistake, which is not yet apparent but very important, is that the United States is increasingly drawn into this conflict," Putin said.
After months of hesitation, the White House confirmed on Oct. 17 that it had provided Ukraine with the much-desired ATACMS.
The announcement was made shortly after Ukrainian forces reportedly used the U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to destroy nine helicopters, an air defense system, an ammunition warehouse, and airfield infrastructure in occupied Luhansk and Berdiansk.
Putin also said on Oct. 18 that Russian warplanes armed with Kinzhal missiles will begin regularly patrolling the Black Sea.
"On my instructions, the Russian Air Force begins regular patrols in the neutral zone over the Black Sea. Our MiG-31 aircraft are armed with Kinzhal weapon systems," he said.
Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, with a speed of up to 12,000 kilometers per hour, have been used in the past in strikes against Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down several of these hypersonic missiles using U.S.-supplied Patriot air defenses.
Putin also claimed during the conference that Ukraine is considering opening "some kinds of negotiations" with Moscow.
"Even the people in charge of (Ukraine's) foreign policy, who very recently said that it is necessary to inflict a strategic defeat to Russia on the battlefield, are now talking in a very different tone and say that these problems must be solved through peace negotiations," Putin said during the press conference.
"This is a change in the right direction... and I commend it, but it is not enough, as concrete steps are needed," he said, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decree prohibiting negotiations must be canceled.
Zelensky signed a decree in October last year prohibiting negotiations with Putin but leaving the door open for talks with "another president of Russia."
Last week, Zelensky told The Economist that it is currently a "bad moment" for starting negotiations with Moscow and stressed that the war will continue "as long as Russia remains on Ukrainian territory."
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.
Nate Ostiller
