"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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Jan. 17, 2025. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Iran, Russian state-controlled media reported on April 21.
The agreement was initially signed during a summit between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Russia on Jan. 17, where the leaders pledged closer cooperation in trade, defense, energy, and regional infrastructure projects.
The law on the treaty was approved by the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, on April 8 and passed the Federation Council on April 16, with the presidential signature remaining as the final step.
According to the Kremlin, the agreement aims to bolster bilateral relations across key sectors, including investment, transport, logistics, and humanitarian efforts, while also addressing pressing regional and global issues.
Both countries have also pledged not to provide assistance to any third party involved in military conflict with the other.
Russian and Iranian officials have framed the deal as a response to increasing geopolitical pressure from the West.
Iran and Russia have seen their ties strengthen significantly since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tehran has supplied Moscow with thousands of Shahed drones used in attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, as well as short-range ballistic missiles. With Iranian assistance, Russia has begun producing its own variants, known as Geran-2.
This ratification follows a similar move by Putin in June 2024, when he signed a defense-oriented partnership agreement with North Korea.
That pact included mutual military support clauses and has since seen Pyongyang reportedly dispatch up to 12,000 troops to Russian territory to help defend against Ukrainian cross-border operations in Kursk Oblast.
Mohammad Eslami
