"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 law enforcement guard the Red Square near the Kremlin on June 24, 2023 in Moscow, Russia, amid the Wagner Group's ongoing armed rebellion in Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Lawmakers from Russia's Tula Oblast have submitted a draft bill to the Russian State Duma to allow foreigners with a criminal record to serve in Russia's Armed Forces, the country's state-run news agency TASS reported on Jan. 12.
Regional lawmakers held an extraordinary meeting of the Tula Regional Duma on Friday to unanimously support draft legislation that would allow foreign citizens with criminal records to enter into military service contracts with Russia's Armed Forces. The legislation is now set to go to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, for consideration.
In an explanatory note, lawmakers of the draft bill did not distinguish between the severity of crimes committed, noting that under current legislation Russian citizens who have committed crimes of different severity can serve in the military.
The draft bill, which establishes an implementation deadline of March 1, is latest move in Russia's attempt to mobilize foreign recruits to fight in Ukraine while trying to suppress domestic anti-mobilization sentiments.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing foreign nationals who join the Russian Armed Forces the ability to apply for Russian citizenship. Analysts have predicted that Putin will avoid decisions that irritate Russia's electorate ahead of the upcoming Russian presidential election, including the issue of mass mobilization, despite a dwindling number of recruits in Ukraine.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov warned in November that Russia may begin full mobilization after the 2024 Russian presidential election.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
