The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has claimed that the detention of Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Czechia over the transportation of an unidentified substance was an "orchestrated provocation" and demanded his immediate release.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked him during a phone call on Monday 25 May to pass on a message from Russian ruler Vladimir Putin to US President Donald Trump that Russia would strike Kyiv.

Police in the city of Karlovy Vary, Czechia, stopped a car on 24 May carrying Russian Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the Czech branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and found four small containers with a white substance inside.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin sees Europe's participation in talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine as beneficial for himself.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Sunday 24 May that he would be willing to represent Europeans in potential peace negotiations with Russia.

Given the casualty figures in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine is today in its most advantageous position since February 2022.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka has met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during his visit to Serbia on 21 May.

Ukraine must ensure the Hungarian minority enjoys the same rights as minorities in other EU countries before Budapest agrees to the opening of the first cluster in the EU's pre-accession talks with Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump has described this week's meeting between the leaders of China and Russia as "good".

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová has said that intensified Ukrainian strikes on military targets inside Russia should force Moscow to reconsider its calculations regarding the war.

US President Donald Trump has said the Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Kyiv, which killed 24 people, could hinder efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the war.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio believes that the war against Russia has turned the Ukrainian armed forces into the strongest in Europe.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said after another large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine that the EU is finalising a €6 billion support package focused on drones.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová told journalists that the court proceedings in the case of Andrii Yermak, a former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, have demonstrated the resilience and maturity of Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions.

Montenegro, Romania and San Marino have informed the Council of Europe of their readiness to join the enlarged partial agreement on establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression committed by Russia against Ukraine.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has stressed the importance of recognising that US involvement is essential to achieving real progress in peace efforts aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russian cargo vessel Ursa Major, which sank off the coast of Spain in December 2024, was likely carrying two nuclear submarine reactors and is believed to have been heading to North Korea.

Anita Orbán, the nominee for Hungary's foreign minister, has said Budapest wants equal and transparent relations with Russia despite the threat that its policies pose to Hungary and Europe.

During a visit to Kyiv on 11 May, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned that remarks by Russian leader Vladimir Putin about a possible end to the war in Ukraine could be another act of deception.

Ukraine can close most chapters in the negotiations on accession to the European Union within the next 12-18 months and reach the signing of an accession treaty as early as 2027.