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.
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Monday, May 12
"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."
Monday, May 12
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.
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"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"We cannot allow NATO's military infrastructure to get that close to our borders," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the men killed the other before taking his own life.
Western leaders dismissed the Kremlin's proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15 as insufficient.
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.
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Ukraine sends a note to Polish Embassy, EU Representative Office on 'unacceptable' trade restrictions of Ukrainian grain
• 2 min read
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on April 29 lashed out at Poland and the EU on what it called a "categorically unacceptable" situation concerning the trade restrictions of Ukrainian grain, urging its allies to "find a balanced solution."
Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said in a Facebook post that the Foreign Ministry handed a note to the Polish Embassy and the EU Representative Office in Ukraine about "the categorically unacceptable situation regarding trade restrictions on the import of agricultural products of Ukraine."
Nikolenko's statement comes a few weeks after transit EU nations, such as Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Romania have moved to suspend the import of Ukrainian grain and other products, citing their need to protect their domestic markets.
During months of Russia's Black Sea blockade in the early stage of the war in Ukraine, these transit countries played a crucial role in enabling Ukraine to export its agricultural commodities even though its key trade route was off-limits.
And even after a landmark grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey paved the way for Ukraine to export its agricultural commodities from three Black Sea ports, the amount is limited, which means that Ukraine still needs to rely on its land transfer routes.
Transit countries have brought up the issue that the cheap Ukrainian grain also flowed into their local markets, lowering the market prices and making the business harder for their farmers.
On April 28, after nearly two weeks of negotiations, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced that five EU countries finally "reached a political agreement" with the European Commission on Ukrainian grain imports to the bloc.
The five EU countries will receive 100 million euros in support package to compensate farmers, and the agreement included "safeguard measures" for wheat, sunflower seeds, maize, and rapeseed, according to Dombrovskis. He did not disclose more details.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 28 said he spoke with Charles Michel, president of the European Council, regarding the ban, calling it "a gross violation of the Association Agreement and the founding treaties of the EU."
"This gives the Kremlin dangerous hope, the hope that in our common European home someone's wrong decisions can prevail over common interests," Zelensky said in his evening address on April 28.
EU agrees on Ukrainian grain imports
After nearly two weeks of negotiations, five EU countries finally “reached a political agreement” with the European Commission on Ukrainian grain imports to the EU, the European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced on April 28.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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