"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.
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.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov takes part in a Forum with the participation of heads of state institutions on August 27, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The first clashes between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and North Korean soldiers have already taken place in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed on Nov. 5 in an interview with South Korean TV channel KBS.
North Korea deployed 11,000 troops in Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the day before, citing Ukraine's intelligence report.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, also claimed on Nov. 4 that the first North Korean soldiers stationed in this area have come under fire.
"We are identifying clashes with North Korean forces, but we believe there will be more fighting in the next few weeks, and we will continue to analyze and revise accordingly," Umerov said.
The clashes were small-scale, according to Umerov.
The minister added that the DPRK soldiers were "disguised as Buryats" (an Asian people group inside Russia's borders) and mixed with Russian soldiers, so all the identities need to be checked to confirm the exact number of their losses and prisoners.
Kyiv expects five units of 3,000 people each to be deployed along the 1,500-kilometer front line. This will bring the total number of North Koreans involved in the war to 15,000.
The Russian border region has seen heavy battles since Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive in early August. Moscow has deployed North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast to reinforce lines there while its most experienced units continue advancing in Ukraine's east.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Ukraine had permission to use Western long-range weapons on Russian territory, it could preemptively target "every camp" in Russia where North Korean troops are gathering.
According to Zelensky, Russia has confirmed to the West the involvement of Pyongyang's forces in the war.
Chris York
