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. 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.
A screenshot from a video released by the press service of Yevgeny Prigozhin on May 13, 2023, shows the Wagner Group boss describing the tactical situation around Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. (Telegram)
The Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said he is expecting a response from Russia's Defense Ministry to the submitted contract between the mercenary group and the state, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on June 20.
The Russian Defense Ministry ordered all "volunteer" formations, which technically includes paramilitary formations and mercenaries, to sign formal contracts with the state by July 1.
This is part of the efforts to integrate mercenary troops like the Wagner into regular forces and tighten the government's control over them.
Prigozhin criticized the ministry's efforts but said he attempted to submit a contract of "his own drafting" on June 17, without revealing its content.
The U.K. Defense Ministry notes that by delivering his draft, Prigozhin again raises the stakes and likely aims to undermine the authority of the military officials.
"Prigozhin's tone towards (the Defense Ministry) has become unambiguously confrontational. The Defense Ministry almost certainly sees this as deeply unfortunate at a time when it is grappling with Ukraine's counteroffensive," the report said.
There is a long-standing feud between Russia's Defense Ministry and the Wagner founder. Prigozhin repeatedly criticized the military authorities and claimed that Wagner mercenaries are the only Russian units achieving success on the battlefield.
During the drawn-out battle of Bakhmut, the oligarch complained that his mercenaries are not receiving enough ammunition and threatened to pull Wagner from the fight. After the battle, Prigozhin claimed that Russian troops placed mines on Wagner's exit routes from the city.
Ukraine's military even reported a case of a shootout between Prigozhin's contractors and the regular forces.
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.
Anastasiia Lapatina
