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.
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.
Ropucha-class landing ship Azov of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the bay near Sevastopol, Crimea, in 2012. (Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
Ukraine struck two Russian Ropucha-class landing ships, "Yamal" and "Azov," in occupied Crimea in the late hours of March 23, Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on March 24.
The attack also hit some Black Sea Fleet infrastructure in Crimea and a Russian military communication center, the Ukrainian military said.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea. Russia has illegally occupied the peninsula since 2014.
"Yamal," with 98 crew members, and "Azov," with 87 crew members, belong to the 197th Landing Ships Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and are actively used in the fleet’s exercises and training, according to the fleet’s website.
The extent of the destruction on the ships is not yet clear.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on Ukraine's reports of the successful strike.
Ropucha-class landing ship Yamal of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. (Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
Ropucha-class landing ship Yamal of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. (Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
Ropucha-class landing ship Azov of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in 2021. (Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
Ropucha class (Project 775) is a NATO label for ships that were built at Gdansk’s Stocznia Polnocna Shipyard in Poland during the Cold War and support sea-to-land military assault operations.
As of February, only five Ropucha-class landing ships remained in service in Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of a previous total of 13 following the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov on Feb. 14, Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on television.
Air raid sirens went off in Sevastopol on the evening of March 23, with Russia's illegal administration in Sevastopol temporarily blocking vehicle traffic on the Crimean Bridge. It later claimed Russian forces had shot down more than 10 missiles.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, the head of Sevastopol's illegal Russian occupation government, called the attack "the most massive" in recent time, claiming that one person was killed and four were injured as a result.
As Ukraine's campaign against Russia's navy continues, Russia is redeploying its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea to the relative safety of Novorossiysk, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) reported on March 21.
The Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) recently reported that as of early February 2024, 33% of the fleet’s warships had been disabled including 24 ships and one submarine.
On March 17, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on a visit to Sevastopol said Black Sea Fleet ships would be armed with heavy-caliber machine guns to help destroy Ukrainian sea drones.
Referencing Russia’s new push to protect its ships, Yusov said that Ukraine’s future attacks will not necessarily be a repetition of previous operations.
“These will be new combined steps in the air, at sea, and on land.”
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