The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
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.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
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.
Ukrainian prisoners return home from Russian captivity on Jan. 31, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 207 Ukrainian prisoners returned home from Russian captivity on Jan. 31 and that "almost half of them are Mariupol defenders."
The group consisted of 180 privates and sergeants, as well as 27 officers from the Armed Forces, National Guard, Border Guard, and National Police, Zelensky said in a later update.
Earlier in January, 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were brought back home in the largest prisoner exchange to date since February 2022.
"We remember each Ukrainian in captivity," Zelensky said. "Both warriors and civilians. We must bring all of them back."
Zelensky also thanked his team for helping orchestrate the return of the prisoners.
According to Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the exchange was the 50th of its kind and in total, 3,035 Ukrainians have been returned from captivity.
Ukrainian prisoners return home from Russian captivity on Jan. 31, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky / X)
Ukrainian prisoners return home from Russian captivity on Jan. 31, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky / X)
The soldiers will "have a warm dinner, receive clean clothes, a medical examination, restoration of documents, bank cards, and rehabilitation," Lubinets said on Telegram.
Lubinets thanked the work of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War, and the Security Service of Ukraine for its work.
None of those exchanged on Jan. 31 were individuals named on a list that Russian propagandists claimed had been on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed on Jan. 24, military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov told Ukrainska Pravda.
Lubinets told Sky News on Jan. 25 that the list of prisoners included some of those who had already been swapped before.
Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne analyzed the list and confirmed that most of the names were previously mentioned as being POWs or missing persons and that some had appeared in captivity in Russian propaganda videos.
Suspilne could not confirm, however, that those on the list were actually on the plane when it crashed, nor that they were potentially part of a prisoner exchange.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Dinara Khalilova
