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.
"(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.
The U.S. House of Representatives and Capitol Dome on May 28, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $300 million tranche for Ukraine late on Sept. 28 after Republicans removed it from the defense spending bill, Politico reported.
The separate bill to allocate the funds to Kyiv passed in a bipartisan vote of 311 to 117, the media outlet wrote. The House also approved the $826 billion defense bill.
On Sept. 27, the House Rules Committee convened to remove the funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative from the defense spending package and instead had it stand as a separate bill.
The move signaled a reversal of the Republican Party's previous statements, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sept. 23 that Ukraine assistance would not be cut from the bill.
Although both bills were approved, Democrats fear that the decision to remove the Ukraine aid from the defense spending package could be presented by Russian propaganda as U.S. Congress abandoning Ukraine, Politico wrote.
"The Russians are good at propaganda," House Armed Services ranking Democrat Adam Smith said, as cited by the outlet. "It will be played as America backing off of its commitment for Ukraine."
The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative is meant to provide funds for training, equipment, salaries, and other needs of the Ukrainian military.
Washington is leading the allied effort in support of Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression. However, the growing opposition from the hardline elements of the Republican Party put the future of this support into doubt.
Kateryna Ilnytska
