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.
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic General Daniel Zmeko paid a visit to the operational-strategic group of troops "Tavria," Aug. 17, 2023. (Source: General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces/Facebook)
General Daniel Zmeko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, paid a visit to the Tavria group of troops fighting in Ukraine's south, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Aug. 17.
"During the meeting with defenders from the Defense Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian side thanked Slovakia for the material and technical assistance provided to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Ukrainian military wrote on social media.
"In particular, the effectiveness of combat use of weapons provided by the Slovak Republic was noted."
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, met his Slovak counterpart last week during Zemko's visit to the country.
The two senior officers discussed the situation at the front and the needs of Ukraine's army, and Zaluzhnyi thanked the Slovak general for Bratislava's support against the Russian aggression, the Ukrainian commander wrote on his Telegram channel.
Slovakia, a Central European NATO and EU member, has provided Ukraine with both humanitarian and military support since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The military hardware provided to Kyiv included, among else, artillery, armored vehicles, air defenses, and most notably 13 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets previously operated by the Slovak Air Force.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
