Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, 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.
"Perhaps in some areas, the intensity decreased slightly to create an image of compliance with their own announcement. But in reality, (Russia) continued attacks every day, using all available weapons — including aircraft to drop guided bombs on Ukraine," Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, said.
Beijing supports all efforts toward achieving peace in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 12 when asked about Kyiv and Europe's proposal for a 30-day truce.
"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.
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.
Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, speaks at a Multilateral Development Bank roundtable during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2023. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Any plan to seize or monetize frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine can not be considered a substitute for emergency Ukraine aid that has been stalled in Congress, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview, as reported by Bloomberg on March 1.
A $95 billion supplemental funding bill that includes around $60 billion for Ukraine has been held up for months due to U.S. domestic political turmoil.
The U.S. Senate passed the foreign aid bill on Feb. 13, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet put it to a vote in Congress's lower chamber, despite the pressure from the Senate and the White House.
“I don’t see a real substitute for Congress providing Ukraine the aid it needs this year,” Yellen said, as cited by Bloomberg. “I don’t think anyone can fill that gap.”
Western countries and other partners immobilized around $300 billion of the Russian Central Bank's assets at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Yellen said on Feb. 27 that unlocking frozen Russian Central Bank assets and diverting those funds to aid Ukraine is "necessary and urgent."
Debates over the legality of channeling these funds into Ukraine's reconstruction have prevented allies from transferring the money, but ongoing delays in U.S. military aid have prompted heightened urgency.
Ten international legal experts recently signed a letter echoing Yellen's sentiments, arguing that the seizure of frozen Russian central bank assets to aid Ukraine would be lawful given Russia's "ongoing breach of the most fundamental rules of international law."
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill on Jan. 25 that would allow Washington to confiscate and transfer frozen Russian assets. The White House is reportedly behind the bill, which could potentially provide a novel solution to the current funding impasse in Congress.
Francis Farrell
