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.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament (L), President Volodymyr Zelensky (C), and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal pose for a photo on Sept. 30 in Kyiv. (Photo: President's Office)
In a video address on Sept. 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has applied for NATO membership. The country, according to him, should count on the NATO fast-track accession.
"De facto, we have already become a NATO ally. We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is the Alliance," Zelensky said. "Today Ukraine submits an application to make this de jure. (Our accession) would be a formal solidifying of the real state of things we've already achieved."
In his speech, Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for peace talks with Russia but only with a different Russian president.
"It was our state that repeatedly offered Russia to agree on coexistence on equal, honest, dignified, and fair terms. It is obvious that this is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," Zelensky added.
Zelensky's video address follows the televised address and ceremony where Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed annexation of four Ukrainian regions that Russia partly occupied. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will hold a briefing on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. The topic hasn't been announced.
An hour prior, Russia declared the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts – Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts – after staged referendums at gunpoint. Russia laid claim to the entire regions that its forces partly occupy.
After facing defeat on the battlefield, Putin declared mobilization on Sept. 21. "Mobilization measures will begin today," Putin said then.
In his speech, Putin once again called Kyiv "fascist," saying it was Ukraine that invaded Russia in 2014. "When its territorial integrity is threatened, Russia will use everything it can, this is not a bluff," Putin added.
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