"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.
"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 headquarters of the Knauf Group in Bavaria, Germany, on Aug. 19, 2019. (Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) added Knauf, one of the world's largest manufacturers of building materials, to its list of "international sponsors of war," the agency announced on Nov. 23.
The company operates in Russia through 10 subsidiaries and has invested over $1.8 billion into the Russian economy since 1993, according to the NACP.
It is known for manufacturing building materials like drywall, plaster, and insulation.
Knauf announced they had no plans to leave the Russian market following the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and went on to contribute around $117 million to the Russian state budget in 2022 alone, the agency said.
It has 20 factories in Russia and employs over 4,000 people, making it the largest German investor in the Russian construction industry.
The company has actively helped the Russian military mobilize its employees, according to NACP, citing German media reports from October 2022.
The managers of a Knauf factory near Moscow reportedly checked the lists of who would receive military summons, dividing the employees into those who were essential for the functioning of the plant and those who could join the military.
Knauf's close relations with the Russian authorities stretch further into the past.
Nikolaus Knauf, the son of the founder and a key shareholder, received an Order of Friendship in 2006 from Russian President Vladimir Putin for his contribution to developing relations between Russia and Germany.
Russia appointed him the head of an honorary consulate in Nuremberg in 1999, a role he gave up in March 2022 following local protests.
Nate Ostiller
