U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
Illustrative purposes only: A chevron reading Ukraine is seen on a serviceman uniform during a celebration ceremony of the Independence Day at St. Sophia Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 24, 2023. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Around 3,800 convicts have joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but some of them have already been killed or injured, a senior lawmaker told Ukrainska Pravda in a comment published on July 23.
Ukraine approved in May new legislation that allows some convicts to serve in the military.
This does not extend to those sentenced over premeditated murder, sexual violence, drug trafficking and production, or crimes against national security, among other exceptions.
"(Around) 3,800 prisoners are already in the Armed Forces. Most of them have recently completed their training," the secretary of the parliamentary national security committee, Roman Kostenko, told Ukrainska Pravda.
"Among them, there are already killed and injured," added Kostenko, who is also a decorated military veteran.
The lawmaker believes it should be possible to call up around 5,000 convicts for military service. He also suggested that citizens in pre-trial detention should be able to join the Armed Forces as well.
Justice Minister Denys Maliuska gave a much higher number of potential recruits in May, saying that as many as 20,000 convicts could be mobilized.
Special units with former prisoners will be established for assault operations and not involve other military personnel, Maliuska said.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
