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.
Andrei Belousov speaks during a meeting of the Federation Council's Committee on Defence and Security in Moscow, Russia, on May 13, 2024. (Federation Council Press Service/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin officially appointed Andrei Belousov as the new defense minister, according to a signed decree posted on the Kremlin's website on May 14.
Putin proposed on May 12 that Belousov, a former aide and Russia's economy minister from 2012-2013, should replace Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in a surprise reshuffle of Russia's security and defense apparatus.
Shoigu had faced criticism for the Russian military's poor performance in Ukraine. Instead of being fully removed from the upper ranks of Russia's government, Shoigu received a somewhat lateral position change and was named the new secretary of Russia's security council.
According to Russian media, Belousov is a staunch Putin loyalist and a member of his inner circle. As with Shoigu, Belousov had no previous military experience before being appointed defense minister.
Belousov said that his predecessor modernized Russia's Armed Forces, and Putin has now "set the task of ensuring the integration of the economy of the Armed Forces into the country's economy," according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
This "implies increasing the efficiency of military spending," according to RIA Novosti.
In terms of his priorities as minister, "all the most pressing current issues are related" to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Belousov said.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
