The sanctions appear to be in response to Russia's rejection of a 30-day ceasefire that the U.K., alongside Ukraine, France, Germany, and Poland, demanded during a visit to Kyiv on May 10.
"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.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren makes a statement as she arrives to take part in a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on Oct. 11, 2023. (Simon Wohlfahrt /AFP via Getty Images)
Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands approved a deal aimed at speeding up the process of cross-border movement of troops and weapons along one of the main corridors leading from the North Sea to NATO's eastern flank, Reuters reported on Jan. 30.
NATO militaries have strengthened their capacity and preparedness since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the prospect of the war escalating to an all-out clash between the alliance and Russia has so far been averted, there are concerns that the West has not accepted that it may still be a possibility.
NATO is currently conducting its largest military drills since the Cold War in operation Steadfast Defender, involving more than 90,000 troops. The exercises include simulated deployments of U.S. personnel to European countries on the alliance's eastern flank, as well as on-the-ground training.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren emphasized the importance of creating conditions that would allow for swift military deployments ahead of any potential conflict.
"The geography is what it is. That means you have to be able to move quickly from the Netherlands through Germany to Poland," Ollongren said.
The three countries signed a letter of intent for closer cooperation in what the EU calls a "military mobility" project open to additional partners.
Over the past few months, several NATO commanders and other alliance leaders warned in increasingly stark terms about the dangers of such a war and what impact it could have across Europe.
Lieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, said earlier this month that NATO countries should be prepared for the possibility of an all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years.
Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, a commander of NATO's military logistics center in Germany, and other NATO generals cautioned that a direct military confrontation with Russia could occur as soon as within the next three years.
Asami Terajima
