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.
Arkady Volozh gives a speech during the Artifical Intelligence Journey (AIG), November 9, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Arkady Volozh, co-founder of Russia's most popular search engine Yandex, denounced Russian aggression against Ukraine in a statement published by the Russian independent outlet Meduza on Aug. 10.
"I categorically oppose Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine, where I, as well as many others, have friends and relatives," Volozh said.
"I am horrified by the fact that every day, bombs fall on Ukrainian homes. Despite the fact that since 2014 I do not live in Russia, I understand that I also bear responsibility for the acts of the country."
The co-founder of the Russian tech giant has been living in Israel with his family since 2014.
"There were many reasons why I had to remain silent. You can argue about the timeliness of my statement, but not about its essence. I am against the war," he added.
The EU sanctioned Volozh in June 2022, arguing that his company serves the interests of the Russian government and promotes pro-Kremlin media and narratives, as well as censors content critical of the regime.
In November 2022, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets noted that Mariupol buildings destroyed by Russia have been hidden on Yandex's online maps while remaining visible on Google Maps.
Following the sanctions, Volozh resigned as the CEO of Yandex and from other senior positions in its subsidiaries. The company also sold its news services to a state-controlled social media platform VK.
The company has clashed with the Russian authorities as well. This year in June, a Russian court fined Yandex 2 million rubles ($20,500) for repeatedly refusing to provide Russia's security services with information about its users.
Earlier in August, Volozh presented himself as an "Israeli entrepreneur born in Kazakhstan" in his online biography, omitting his Russian ties.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
