"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
Previously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the Russian intelligence services of orchestrating a May 2024 arson attack on the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak voiced doubt about leading negotiations with anyone from Russia except President Vladimir Putin, implying only the Russian leader can make real decisions.
This includes at least seven people injured in drone attacks overnight on May 12, a date from which Kyiv and its allies put forward a demand for a 30-day unconditional truce, a step that Moscow continues to reject.
"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.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 5, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The U.S. Senate will hold a procedural vote on Feb. 8 on whether to advance a foreign aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan but no reforms to border policy, CNN reported on Feb. 7.
The decision to separate the aid package from the border bill was made after Senate Republicans blocked a highly anticipated bipartisan agreement earlier that day.
“We will recess until tomorrow and give our Republican colleagues time to figure themselves out,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after voting closed on Feb. 7.
“We’ll be coming back tomorrow at noon, and hopefully that will give the Republicans the time they need. We will have this vote tomorrow.”
The package includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion in aid to Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance, and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Senate leaders from both parties, helmed by Republican James Lankford, conducted months of closed-door negotiations on a border deal after Senate Republicans killed a funding bill that included $60 billion for Ukraine in December. Republicans demanded that the package include reforms to U.S. border policy.
Senators released the details of their agreement on Feb. 4, revealing a deal that included severe restrictions on asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The concessions were not enough to save the bill.
Schumer proposed separating the aid package from the border debate when it became clear the bipartisan bill had no chance of advancing, Bloomberg reported earlier on Feb. 7. After the bill failed, senators then discussed holding a separate vote on the funding package.
The Senate voted in favor of hearing the proposal, and are expected to hold a procedural vote on the matter at the 60-vote threshold as early as Feb. 8. It is not clear whether the proposal can win 60 votes in the Senate.
If it does advance, it will face an uphill battle in the House of Representatives, where Republican opposition to Ukraine aid is strong, particularly among those who support former President Donald Trump.
Trump has made reforms to the southern border a central part of his reelection campaign and opposes any deal brokered by the current administration.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Torbjörn Becker
