"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.
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.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova (L) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksy (R) in Kyiv on May 10, 2024. (Presidential Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Slovak President Zuzana Caputova during the latter's visit to Kyiv on May 10.
Zelensky thanked Caputova "for her determination and moral leadership shown in the face of the full-scale Russian invasion, as well as for supporting the Ukrainian peace formula," the Presidential Office said.
Slovakia's pro-Western head of state has been at odds with the Ukraine-skeptic Slovak government of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Caputova will conclude her term in June when she will be replaced by Fico's ally, President-elect Peter Pellegrini.
"We appreciate that thanks to cooperation, relations between our states have become the most meaningful since 1991," Zelensky said when meeting Caputova.
"First of all, it's defense cooperation with Slovakia and political interaction, especially at the level of the European Union."
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The two leaders discussed the situation at the front and Russia's plans. During their joint press briefing, Zelensky announced that Moscow launched new offensive operations in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast.
Caputova noted that from the first day of Russia's full-scale war, Slovakia sheltered Ukrainian refugees and was one of the first countries to provide military assistance to Kyiv.
"This tragedy must be stopped. The entire civilized world must be involved. Only a just peace is acceptable," Caputova said.
Bratislava provided several key capabilities to Ukraine in the first two years of the full-scale war, including Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. The country's foreign policy took a turn after Fico, a vocal critic of military aid to Ukraine, assumed office as the prime minister in the autumn of 2023.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
