"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.
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.
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.
"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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky during a joint press conference with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola (not pictured) on May 9, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Andriy Zhyhaylo/Obozrevatel/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on May 10 that Russian forces had begun a new offensive operation, targeting Kharkiv Oblast.
"Russia began a new wave of offensive actions in this (Kharkiv's) direction. Ukraine met them (Russian forces) there with our troops, brigades, and artillery," Zelensky said during the press briefing with Slovak President Zuzana Caputova in Kyiv.
The Defense Ministry earlier in the day reported that the Russian military attempted a breakthrough of Ukraine's line of defense in Kharkiv Oblast.
Zelensky said that Russian troops could mobilize assault units further in the region. The president added that the Ukrainian command had known about a potential offensive in this direction and had been preparing.
"Now, there is a fierce battle going on in this (Kharkiv's) direction," Zelensky said.
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War Notes
As of 1:30 p.m. local time, at least two people were killed, and five were injured amid intense Russian attacks.
Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defense lines at around 5 a.m. local time, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Russian attack has been held off, but the battles of varying intensity have continued, as the ministry's statement read.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said earlier the attack "does not pose a threat" to the regional center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
Russian forces failed to take Kharkiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion despite the fact the city lies less than 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
Elsa Court
