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.
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.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Aug. 30, 2023. (Source: President Volodymyr Zelensky/X)
In light of corruption uncovered among the military medical commissions in Ukraine, the authorities will examine the decisions on fitness for military service made since the start of the full-scale invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Aug. 30.
"All cases where the decisions are clearly unfounded and illegal should be investigated by law enforcers," Zelensky wrote on the social platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Based on the results of the inspection, conclusions will be drawn regarding those who have traveled abroad on the basis of falsified decisions of the MMCs (military medical commissions) since the beginning of the full-scale aggression."
The president made the announcement following his meeting with officials from the Interior Ministry, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the military, the Ombudsman, and representatives of the medical sector and of the Prosecutor General's Office.
The meeting addressed the results of an inspection of military medical commissions, which has uncovered numerous violations and cases of corruption.
Law enforcement agencies conducted searches in a number of medical commissions across the country in recent weeks, discovering that some officials helped military aged men obtain fake documents proving a disability or being temporarily unfit for military service in exchange for a financial reward.
Most recently, the SBU charged the head of the military medical commission in one of the districts in Kyiv Oblast for reportedly helping more than 50 men evade the draft on the basis of fake medical documentation.
To ensure greater transparency, the military medical commissions will expand their cooperation with civilian healthcare institutions. The authorities will also finalize the digitalization of the commissions' work and review the system of determining fitness for military service, Zelensky said.
Ukraine declared general mobilization and martial law after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to go abroad without a special permit.
According to Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, up to 20 men are detained every day attempting to illegally leave the country. Many of them provide falsified documents to gain passage, including fake medical documentation, falsely "proving" they are unfit for service.
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.
Dinara Khalilova
