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.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," the Elysee Palace reacted to a fake story pushed by Russia.
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.
People leave flowers outside the Russian Embassy in London on Feb. 16, 2024, following the news of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. (Daniel Leal/ AFP)
The U.K. announced new sanctions on Feb. 21 against six Russians who commanded the Arctic penal colony where Alexei Navalny was held until his death on Feb. 16.
Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in the town of Kharp, Yamal Nenets Autonomous District. He had been convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Leaders around the world condemned Russia for Navalny's death and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for what has been consistently characterized as a murder.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Feb. 20 that the White House was preparing "major sanctions" against Russia in response to Navalny's death.
Kirby said the new package would be unveiled on Feb. 23 but declined to provide details of the package's contents or how the new sanctions would expand on preexisting measures.
The U.K.'s sanctions will specifically target six individuals "responsible for the custody" of Navalny, ban them from traveling to the U.K., and have their assets frozen. It is unclear if any of the individuals named have assets that would fall under the purview of the newly announced sanctions.
"Those responsible for Navalny’s brutal treatment should be under no illusion - we will hold them accountable," said U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
Oleg Sukhov
