"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky 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.
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.
Illustrative purposes: U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaks during a joint press conference in Kyiv on Feb. 5, 2025. (Vitalii Nosach / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The United Kingdom will unveil a new sanctions package against Russia on May 12, the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The sanctions appear to be in response to Russia's rejection of a 30-day ceasefire that the U.K., alongside, France, Germany, and Poland, demanded during a visit to Kyiv on May 10.
Shortly after Ukraine and its European allies demanded Russia accept the ceasefire agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a late-night address marking the end of Moscow's short-lived Victory Day truce.
Putin did not agree to the 30-day ceasefire and instead invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks with Russia in Istanbul beginning May 15. He also expressed annoyance at "ultimatums" from European states.
"(The nations) agreed that if Russia refuses a full and unconditional ceasefire, stronger sanctions should be applied to its banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the five European leaders, including Ukraine, said in a joint statement.
While a statement from the U.K. Foreign Ministry only states broadly that sanctions will target “actors supporting Russia’s illegal invasion,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy will unveil the sanctions during a summit of EU Foreign Ministers in London.
The European Weimar+ group meeting of Foreign Ministers is set to occur ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's summit with EU leaders next week.
The European proposal for the 30-day ceasefire is backed by the United States, which first called for a complete month-long truce between Russia and Ukraine in March. Kyiv at the time agreed to the plan, but Russia refused to accept an unconditional ceasefire and insisted Ukraine first give up all foreign military aid.
In a post to social media on May 11, U.S. President Donald Trump urgedUkraine and Russia to hold peace in Istanbul on May 15 — which President Volodymyr Zelensky subsequently agreedto.
"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," Zelensky said.
European officials are shortly expected to agree upon a 17th sanctions package against Russia that will reportedly add over 100 vessels associated with Russia's shadow fleetto the sanctions list, and will target suspects linked to the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
