"I believe both leaders are going to be there," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"The clock is ticking — we still have twelve hours until the end of this day," German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius reportedly said.
"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
"Perhaps in some areas, the intensity decreased slightly to create an image of compliance with their own announcement. But in reality, (Russia) continued attacks every day, using all available weapons — including aircraft to drop guided bombs on Ukraine," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said.
Beijing supports all efforts toward achieving peace in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 12 when asked about Kyiv and Europe's proposal for a 30-day truce.
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
Sanctions on Russia may reach a turning point in 2023, but there are opportunities to toughen them, according to an international working group studying their impact.
The working group is led by Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak and includes the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul, and experts from the Kyiv School of Economics.
The study found that the sanctions' impact had a significant start-up lag but is now having a substantial effect on the Russian economy, the Office of the President reported in a summary of the findings.
The balance payment surplus was down 60% from the second to the fourth quarter of 2022 and the trend appears to have continued into 2023, the researchers found.
The ruble lost 20% of its value since November, which sets the stage for higher consumer prices at a time when fewer Russians can afford them.
The study also concluded that the Kremlin is burning through its National Welfare Fund and may be out by the end of the year.
Receivables from oil and gas are expected to fall by 50% in 2023.
"At the same time, the sanctions regime is still far from exhausting its potential and needs constant updating and improvement. Further steps towards new sanctions restrictions must be applied,” the authors concluded.
Yermak said that the international group is working on reducing price caps for Russian hydrocarbons and eliminating sanction exemptions for certain Russian state-owned companies
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