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.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky during his evening address on March 10, 2024. (President's Office)
Recent successful Ukrainian drone strikes on targets in the Russian Federation demonstrate Russia's vulnerabilities and Ukraine's long-range capabilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on March 16.
"These weeks have demonstrated to many that the Russian war machine has vulnerabilities that we can reach with our weapons," Zelensky said.
Zelensky has long said that improving Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities is critical. At the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, Zelensky urged allies not to give Russia the upper hand by allowing Ukraine's "deficit" of long-range weapons grow.
While Kyiv continues to lobby Western allies for long-range missile systems, including German-made Taurus missiles and U.S. ATACMS, Ukraine has also been developing its own long-range weapons.
Ukraine's Beaver drone, an attack drone that can fly up to 800 kilometers, has reportedly struck numerous critical targets, including Russian missile storage facilities.
Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian military and defense-industrial complex for their achievements.
"What our own drones are capable of is a true Ukrainian long-range capability. Ukraine will now always have a strike force in the sky," he said.
The facilities hit by Ukrainian drones in the past days account for about 12% of Russia’s oil-processing capacity, Bloomberg reported. Profits from Russian oil continue to fund Russia's war against Ukraine.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Andrii Kharuk
