"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.
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.
Eduard Khudainatov, former chief executive officer of Rosneft OAO, speaks with attendees between sessions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 19, 2015. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) nationalized Ukrainian assets valued at half a billion hryvnias ($13 million) belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Eduard Khudainatov.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced in a statement that '100% of his share in the authorized capital of LLC 'Alliance-Ukraine Oil Company,' which is estimated at almost half a billion hryvnias, was recovered as revenue to Ukraine.'
Khudainatov reportedly controlled the oil trader through several offshore companies to avoid nationalization following the full-scale invasion. Over the last two years, the oligarch continued to earn significant profits from the oil and gas market in Ukraine.
The SBU investigation claimed that Khudainatov is not only "one of Putin's confidants," but also heads the Russian oil and gas company NNK-Group and was a member of Rosneft's board of directors.
The NNK-Group and Rosneft are two of the biggest sponsors of Russia's war in Ukraine. They regularly supply fuel and lubricants for Russia's occupation groups and military-industrial complex. Taken together, these companies provide billions of rubles in revenue each month to the Russian Federation.
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court has prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, including the confiscation of assets of collaborator Volodymyr Saldo, a Ukrainian politician who defected to Russia and was placed in charge of the occupied part of southern Kherson Oblast.
Over the last three years, Ukraine has increased efforts to address political and economic corruption, particularly among Ukrainian officials with ties to the Russian Federation. Tackling corruption is one of the main conditions for Ukraine's integration into Western political structures, namely the EU.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Elsa Court
