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.
Russia's Central Bank in Moscow, July 21, 2023. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Due to rising demand, partially caused by large increases in military spending and ongoing pressure of a shrinking labor market, the Russian economy is "likely at risk of overheating," the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote on Nov. 6.
This will most likely ensure that inflation in Russia remains above the target level of 4%, which will probably "erode real terms government spending, particularly in areas such as social care with below-inflation spending rises," the ministry reported in its latest intelligence update.
"This further illustrates the reorientation of Russia's economy to fuel the war above all else."
According to the ministry, inflation in Russia increased from 5.3% in August to 6% the following month, driven by rising consumer prices, particularly for food and fuel.
In response, Russia's central bank has increased the base interest rate by 2% to a new base rate of 15%, the highest number since May last year.
This is highly likely to increase borrowing costs for Russian consumers and impact the government's debt servicing costs, the U.K. Defense Ministry concluded.
The Russian government reportedly plans a massive hike in defense spending in 2024, which should go as high as 6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Bloomberg reported in September.
Reuters wrote in August that Russia doubledits defense spending for 2023 to over $100 billion after it spent 5.59 trillion rubles ($59 billion) on military expenditures already in the first six months.
Alexander Query
