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.
The generator behind the Avtostantsiya pizzeria in Kyiv's Podil neighborhood on Nov. 2, 2023. (Dominic Culverwell/ The Kyiv Independent)
The U.S. has donated emergency equipment, vehicles, and over 100 generators to multiple regions of Ukraine, through USAID.
"As Russia continues its brutal attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, USAID is providing 109 generators, 19 heat and power cogeneration units, and 13 emergency vehicles to keep services online,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.
The cities receiving this aid include Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Cherkasy, and Chernivtsi.
In February, USAID expressed concern about potential disruptions to its activities in Ukraine due to ongoing delays by U.S. Congress in passing a foreign aid bill. U.S. aid to Ukraine has been delayed since fall 2023, as various versions of a foreign aid bill have been derailed due to border security disagreements.
The USAID assistance comes at a critical time, as Ukraine’s power grid has continuously come under attack in recent weeks due to Russian strikes.
"Due to shelling, DTEK (Ukraine's largest private energy company) lost half of its generating capacity on Friday (March 22), which, unfortunately, cannot be quickly restored," DTEK's spokesperson Pavlo Bilodid told the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric station, Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, was hit as well. Millions of citizens have experienced power outages as a result of these attacks.
Olena Goncharova
