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.
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Monday, May 12
"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."
Monday, May 12
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.
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"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"We cannot allow NATO's military infrastructure to get that close to our borders," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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.
Preliminary findings suggest that one of the men killed the other before taking his own life.
Western leaders dismissed the Kremlin's proposal for talks in Istanbul on May 15 as insufficient.
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.
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Zelensky asks Stoltenberg to convene NATO-Ukraine Council over grain deal crisis
• 2 min read
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he asked NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a phone call on June 22 to convene the NATO-Ukraine Council to discuss the terminated Black Sea Grain Initiative.
"I turned to Jens with a proposal to urgently convene such a council for appropriate crisis consultations. The meeting will take place in a few days. We can overcome the security crisis in the Black Sea," Zelensky said.
NATO launched the NATO-Ukraine Council, aimed at enabling closer coordination between Kyiv and the alliance, and extended the Comprehensive Assistance Package (which provided 500 million euros in defense aid so far) into a multi-year program after the summit in Vilnius held on July 11.
Zelensky said earlier on July 22 that he spoke with Stoltenberg by phone about sustaining the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Black Sea grain deal collapses as Russia pulls from agreement
Russia announced on July 17 that it is pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, critical for ensuring global food security, effectively collapsing the deal.
Martin Fornusek
Russia dealt a significant blow to global food security on July 17 by announcing its withdrawal from the grain deal.
Brokered by Turkey and the U.N. last July, the grain deal has allowed Ukraine to export its agricultural products through the Black Sea during wartime. Ukraine is one of the world's top grain suppliers.
The deal has been integral in alleviating global food price surges caused by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Russia went on to launch a series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast and destroyed 60,000 tons of grain after withdrawing from the deal.
According to Zelensky, he and Stoltenberg "determined the priority and future steps necessary for the unblocking and sustainable functioning of the Black Sea grain corridor."
Zelensky also reached out to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the grain deal on July 21.
"We coordinated efforts to restore the operation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Due to Russia's actions, the world is once again on the brink of a food crisis. A total of 400 million people in many countries in Africa and Asia are at risk of starvation," Zelensky said.
Ukraine gets a fraction of what it wanted at NATO summit
Ukraine collected many promises at Vilnius, except the one it craved the most. In a joint communique, the 31 NATO member states said Ukraine’s future is in the alliance, which it will one day join. They got rid of the need for a Membership Action Plan, effectively reducing the number
Igor Kossov
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