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.
The aftermath of the Russian deadly strike against Odesa on July 23, 2023. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
Russia has shown less restraint in striking Odesa and areas in Ukraine's south since the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Deal, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its July 25 intelligence update.
"Between August 2022 and June 2023, when the Black Sea Grain Initiative was still in force, Russia generally refrained from striking civilian infrastructure in the southern ports," the update read.
"Since Russia failed to renew the deal, the Kremlin likely feels less politically constrained, and is attempting to strike targets in Odesa because it believes Ukraine is storing military assets in these areas."
The ministry notes that these attacks have featured an "unusual number" of missiles which are designed to destroy aircraft carriers.
Moscow announced that it would not extend the grain deal on July 17. Since July 18, Odesa and the other ports along the coast of the Black Sea have been repeatedly attacked by Russia.
On July 19, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi reported that Russian attacks had destroyed 60,000 tons of grain in Chornomorsk.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on July 23 that the strike that damaged numerous buildings in Odesa's historic center, including a cathedral, had targeted "facilities where terrorist acts against Russia were being prepared." The Ukrainian authorities reported that 19 missiles were used in the attack.
On July 24, Russia used attack drones to strike port infrastructure on the Danube, destroying a hangar used for storing grain. The attack took place in the far southwest of Ukraine, just 200 meters from the border with Romania, a NATO member state.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on July 25 about the destruction of Odesa and Ukrainian port infrastructure.
Zelensky said he brought up Ukraine's need for air defense to protect these sites and that the two leaders discussed further defense cooperation between Ukraine and the U.K.
The U.K. intelligence update added that Russia's missile strike campaign against Ukraine "has been characterized by poor intelligence and a dysfunctional targeting process" since the start of the war.
Anastasiia Lapatina
