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.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a daily White House Press Briefing on Aug. 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The United States will not get involved in the conflict in Syria between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and advancing rebel forces, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Dec. 7.
Sullivan's comments came as a coalition of anti-government forces across Syria captured multiple cities in a single day and continued to push toward Damascus.
The rebel advance has been aided by the weaknesses of Assad's allies, including Russia, Sullivan said.
"Assad's backers — Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah — have all been weakened and distracted," he said.
Russia is "ground down in a war of attrition" in Ukraine, Sullivan said, preventing it from lending greater military aid to Assad and contributing to the speed and scale of the current rebel offensive.
Sullivan said he was in "vigorous agreement" with earlier comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who said on X that the situation in Syria occurred because Russia is "so tied up in Ukraine" and has sustained heavy losses.
Trump also urged Russia and the U.S. to stay out of the conflict.
According to Sullivan, the U.S. will not be directly involved in the fighting in Syria.
"The United States is not going to dive militarily into the middle of a Syrian civil war," he said.
Anti-government fighters launched a surprise offensive in late November, gaining control of major cities like Aleppo and Hama after laying dormant for nearly a decade. U.S. officials told CNN on Dec. 7 that Assad's regime could collapse "by next weekend."
If Assad falls, the U.S. will take steps to prevent the resurgence of ISIS in the region, Sullivan said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Abbey Fenbert
