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.
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.
Zelensky in what remains of the printing house after the Russian missile strike on May 23, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/X)
President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 24 visited the Kharkiv printing house destroyed a day earlier in a Russian missile attack that killed seven people.
"Yesterday, a Russian missile strike killed seven people here," he said in a post on social media, adding: "My condolences go out to their families and friends. Twenty-one people were injured."
"The printing facility was destroyed, and tens of thousands of books were burned. A lot of children's books, educational materials, and textbooks."
One of the largest printing facilities in Kharkiv and all of Ukraine.
Yesterday, a Russian missile strike killed 7 people here. My condolences go out to their families and friends. 21 people were injured. The printing facility was destroyed, and tens of thousands of books were… pic.twitter.com/ECJsrmv7Bi
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2024
According to regional authorities, Russia used S-300 missiles, fired from inside Russian territory, to strike the factory belonging to one of the largest printing facilities in Ukraine.
"Russian terror must never go unpunished. Step by step, we ensure that the Russian state bears the consequences and costs of its evil," Zelensky added.
On May 23, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again urged Kyiv's partners to provide additional Patriot air defense systems in the wake of the strike.
"This heinous attack must remind everyone around the world that Ukraine still urgently needs seven 'Patriot' systems," Kuleba said on X, thanking Germany for pledging an additional system last month.
Francis Farrell
