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.
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.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal addresses a joint press conference at the end the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe, at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 17, 2023. (Photo by HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the EU member states are providing over 400 million euros ($449 million) for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on July 13.
"This will help fund the most urgent reconstruction projects for Ukrainians, including critical infrastructure. Grateful to the partners for the quick and timely assistance!" Shmyhal tweeted.
The EU, its member states, and the European financial institutions have provided Ukraine with $42.4 billion in economic, social, and financial assistance since the start of the full-scale invasion.
On June 20, the EU proposed a four-year financial assistance package worth $55 billion, administered in loans and grants.
According to the World Bank's assessment from March, Ukraine will need at least $411 billion for recovery and reconstruction. This figure equals 2.6 times Ukraine's projected gross domestic product in 2022.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Anna Myroniuk
