"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.
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.
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.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovic during their meeting at the Ukraine-Balkan summit in Athens, Greece, on Aug. 22, 2023. (Ukraine's Presidential Office's press service)
Montenegro has joined the Group of Seven's (G7) declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 22.
Zelensky met with Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovic during the Ukraine-Balkan summit in Athens, thanking him for humanitarian, military, and political support.
According to Ukraine’s Presidential Office, the two leaders discussed Montenegro's assistance in implementing the Ukrainian peace formula ahead of the Global Peace Summit, which Kyiv wants to hold in autumn.
Zelensky and Milatovic also discussed the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Montenegro and assistance to Ukrainian refugees, in particular.
Montenegro has become the 21st country to join the G7's declaration, presented at the July NATO summit in Vilnius. Among the latest to commit were Kosovo, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Greece.
The security guarantees are meant to be explicit and long-lasting obligations aimed at bolstering Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression. They will also address sanctions, financial aid, and post-war reconstruction.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Elsa Court
