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.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on Oct. 11, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Russia's "renewed offensive" in eastern Ukraine hasn't made much progress despite the Russian military bringing back its infamous "human wave" tactics, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Oct. 13, as cited by Politico.
Kirby described the tactics as throwing "masses of poorly trained soldiers right into the battlefield without proper equipment, and apparently without proper training and preparation."
His statement comes three days after Russia launched a heavy assault against Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, deploying over 2,000 soldiers to the area, according to the Ukrainian military.
Avdiivka has stood on the front lines since the very start of Russia's war in 2014, but the new Russian offensive occurred after months of comparatively static siege.
According to the Insider media outlet, Kirby also said that Russia "continues to show no regard for the lives of its own soldiers, willingly sacrificing them in pursuit of Putin's goals, while Ukraine continues to fight bravely, effectively, and smartly."
However, Moscow's decision to resume "human wave" tactics is "a sobering reminder that Russia is not prepared to give up on this fight," the White House official added. "And as long as Russia continues its brutal assault on Ukraine, the United States must support the Ukrainian peoples' ability to defend themselves."
In their Oct. 13 report, the Institute for the Study of War also reported that Russian forces faced a number of "setbacks" in their Avdiivka offensive as Ukrainian soldiers in the area continued to repel Russian attacks, using minefields to hinder Russian advances toward the city.
A day before, the ISW said that Russian troops had captured 4.5 square kilometers of territory from different directions around Avdiivka since Oct. 10.
Martin Fornusek
