Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
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.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulates Ukrainian military on the Territorial Defense Day on Oct. 7, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russia launched over 2,000 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine in October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 2, while urging Western allies to apply more sanctions against the providers of components used in Russian drones.
Russia continues to avoid sanctions through the use of sanctions evasion networks and shell companies. Russia is also aided in sanctions evasion through its allies, including China, Iran, and North Korea.
"This volume of 'Shahed' drones means over 170,000 components that should have been blocked from reaching Russia," Zelensky said in his evening address. "Microchips, microcontrollers, processors, and many other parts are essential for enabling this terror."
"All of these are supplied to Russia from abroad, unfortunately, from companies in China, Europe, and America—a multitude of small but significant contributions to Russia’s ongoing terror," Zelensky added.
Zelensky's comments come as Russia launched a mass drone attack on Kyiv on Nov. 2, which caused a fire in a 16-story residential building and an office building, and left an 82-year-old woman with shrapnel injuries to the head.
During his evening address, Zelensky called for sanctions against companies that deliver components to Russia to be made more expansive and effective.
"Such schemes also allow Russia to help strengthen the regimes in Iran and North Korea. This is a global threat, and it can only be overcome through global, coordinated pressure."
Zelensky's comments come a few days after the United States imposed sanctions on Oct. 30 against nearly 400 entities and individuals directly or indirectly involved in supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine.
The limitations applied to companies involved in sanctions evasion networks in 17 jurisdictions, including China, India, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, and Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
On Nov. 1, the U.S. imposed a $500,000 against GlobalFoundries for shipping chips without authorization to an affiliate of sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, Reuters reported.
On Oct. 20, Zelensky said that a total of 6,130 Shahed-type drones since the start of 2024 — although that number does not account for the hundreds of drones launched in the past two weeks.
In recent months, Russia has stepped up its drone attacks targeting cities and towns across Ukraine on a near daily basissince the start of September.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Olena Goncharova
