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.
Moscow and Hanoi agreed to negotiate and sign agreements to construct nuclear power plants in Vietnam, the two countries said in a joint statement on May 11.
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.
Ukrainian army artillerists fire artillery on the frontline as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on Oct. 27, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia launched an attack on the village of Bohuslavka in Kharkiv Oblast killing one civilian and injuring two others, the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration reported on May 26.
The attack killed a 72-year-old woman and a nine-year-old boy was one of the two injured residents.
Another strike set fire to three houses in the nearby village of Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi.
Russia launched a new offensive in northern Kharkiv Oblast on May 10. Russian troops have reportedly suffered heavy losses during street battles in the town of Vovchansk, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 23.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops were stopped by Ukraine’s first line of defense after advancing 10 kilometers (6 miles) into the region. However, he later said on May 26 that Russia is forming another grouping of troops near Ukraine's northern border
"Right now, these days, we are defending ourselves 60 kilometers northeast from this place from yet another attempt of the Russian assault," Zelensky said in an address recorded at the Kharkiv printing house destroyed in a Russian May 23 strike that killed seven people.
"Russia is preparing for offensive actions also 90 kilometers northwest from here – they gather another group of troops near our border."
The regional capital Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has come under heavy attacks in recent days. Russian troops fired on a hypermarket in the city on May 25, with the death toll reaching 16 as of the time of writing.
Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of 123 children from 36 settlements in the country's northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, the Reintegration Ministry announced on May 24. Over 11,000 people have evacuated from Kharkiv Oblast since May 10.
Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Francis Farrell
