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.
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.
A woman walks towards the impact cloud from a Russian bomb in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, on May 11, 2024. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent)
Russian forces attacked a village near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast with cluster munitions on May 16, injuring six people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
A previous version of this article reported that only five people were injured in the attack.
Two medics, two drivers, a local resident, and the head of the Vovchansk City Military Administration were injured, according to the governor's statement.
Tamaz Gambarashvili is the head of the Vovchansk City Military Administration.
Russian forces are taking Ukrainian civilians captive and preventing their evacuation in the embattled northern part of Vovchansk, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said earlier in the day. Cases of executions have also been reported.
Russia launched anew offensive with 30,000 troops on May 10, targeting Kharkiv Oblast, which is situated at the two countries' shared border in northeastern Ukraine.
Moscow's troops have focused their efforts in the directions of Lyptsi and Vovchansk, two settlements a few kilometers south of the border.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed on May 15 that Russian units had entered the northern parts of the town, but the Ukrainian military reportedly prevented them from establishing a foothold deeper in Vovchansk. There is ongoing combat in the northern outskirts of Vovchansk as of the morning of May 16.
Ukraine's General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops thwarted Russia's plans to gain a foothold in the town's deeper urban areas.
Martin Fornusek
