"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov 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.
"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.
Drone footage of Ukrainian forces dealing heavy losses to Russian military vehicles near Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, published on Oct. 20, 2023. (Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Telegram)
Russia has likely committed parts of at least eight brigades in the fight to capture Avdiivka, and the forces operating there have likely suffered some of Russia's worst casualty rates in 2023, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 28.
A brigade in the Russian army can include between 2,000 and 8,000 personnel, according to open sources.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Oct. 28 that Russian losses in Avdiivka amounted to approximately 4,000, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said the previous day that Russia had lost at least a brigade trying to capture the city.
The U.K. Defense Ministry also noted that Russian milbloggers (typically nationalist, pro-war bloggers) have been "harshly critical of the military's tactics in the operation."
Russian milbloggers have previously gained attention for castigating Russia's poor performance on the battlefield and seeming inability to defend Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks.
It represents an increasing dilemma, the U.K. Defense Ministry emphasized, as "political leaders demand more territory to be seized but the military cannot generate effective operational level offensive action."
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Francis Farrell
