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.
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov talks to journalists prior to the press conference at the Senate Palace of the Moscow's Kremlin, July 5, 2024, in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russia wants to restart peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul based on the results of the 2022 negotiations and the current situation "on the ground," Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on May 11, Russian state-controlled media reported.
Ushakov’s comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 11 invitation for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul starting May 15, after a claimed but unimplemented temporary ceasefire for Russia’s Victory Day celebrations expired.
Despite the offer, Moscow has refused to extend the truce or accept the proposal, backed by the U.S. and Europe, for a full 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
Later on May 11, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized that Putin "clearly said: first negotiate about the root causes, and then we can talk about a ceasefire.”
Ukraine has said it is ready to talk but insists any negotiations must begin with a full cessation of hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 11 that Ukraine is "ready to meet" if Russia confirms a "full, durable, and reliable" ceasefire.
The Istanbul talks refer to negotiations between Ukraine and Russia held in Turkey in late March 2022, which outlined potential terms for a peace deal.
In the three years since the failed talks, Russian propaganda networks have frequently pushed the idea that peace was almost achieved in Istanbul, before Western leaders, in particular then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, allegedly pressured Zelensky to reject the deal and continue fighting.
In reality, leaked documents from 2022 show that Moscow’s first peace offer amounted to Ukraine’s effective surrender.
According to an investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Sistema, Russia’s initial six-page draft agreement, presented on March 7, 2022, demanded Ukraine reduce its military to just 50,000 troops and surrender its ability to develop or deploy long-range missiles or other advanced weapons.
The draft also required Ukraine to recognize Russia’s control over Donetsk and Luhansk, reinvest in the war-torn regions under Russian terms, and de facto legalize Soviet and communist symbols.
"The Istanbul accords happened 30 days after the invasion, and the demands in Istanbul were fairly significant on a very weakened Ukraine," said Keith Kellogg, U.S. presidential envoy for Ukraine, during a March 6 discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kellogg added that the circumstances of 2025 are vastly different from those of early 2022, doubting the viability of restarting talks from a framework that was never fair for all parties.
President Putin in 2024 reiterated maximalist conditions for peace, demanding that Ukrainian troops withdraw from all four partially occupied Ukrainian regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, and that Kyiv formally recognize their annexation by Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an April interview with O Globo, reiterated these demands.
Russia also insists that any peace deal must include a permanent ban on Ukraine’s NATO membership, demilitarization of the country, and constitutional changes reinstating the role of the Russian language, culture, and religious organizations.
Lavrov said Kyiv must lift its ban on talks with Putin, accept a halt to Western military aid, drop international legal claims against Moscow, and allow the return of frozen Russian assets.
Anna Fratsyvir is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent, with a background in broadcast journalism and international affairs. Previously, she worked as a TV journalist at Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne, covering global politics and international developments. Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in International Communications from Taras Shevchenko National University and is currently an MA candidate in International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Andreas Umland
