"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
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.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends an event with Vietnam's President To Lam at the Hanoi Opera House on June 20, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia is considering changes to its nuclear doctrine due to developments "related to lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons," Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed while speaking on June 20 in Vietnam, a day after he visited North Korea.
Nuclear tensions have risen recently after the Russian Defense Ministry said in May it would practice the usage of tactical nuclear weapons in response to purported and unspecified "provocative statements" from the West.
Belarus then announced on June 10 that it will participate in the second stage of Russian drills simulating the launch of tactical nuclear weapons.
NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah told the Kyiv Independent on June 17 that "there are no significant changes" to NATO's nuclear deterrent other than "an ongoing modernization program," after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Telegraph that the alliance is discussing putting more nuclear weapons on standby.
"We are now thinking about what could be changed in the nuclear doctrine," Putin told reporters in Hanoi, where he signed a memorandum on the schedule for establishing a nuclear technology center in Vietnam.
Putin claimed that Russia does not need a preventative strike as part of its nuclear doctrine "because in a retaliatory strike, the enemy will be guaranteed to be destroyed."
The Russian army is prepared for "all possible scenarios" on the front line in Ukraine, Putin added.
Putin has repeatedly made nuclear threats against Ukraine and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without using its nuclear arsenal.
The Group of Seven (G7) issued a statement on June 14 warning Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, noting Moscow's "posture of strategic intimidation."
Martin Fornusek
