In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S., attends a meeting with the Senate Ukraine Caucus and members of the Ukrainian and Polish Parliaments in the Capitol Visitor Center to discuss the Russian invasion on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Ukraine is facing a "critical shortage" of military hardware, including missiles, urging U.S. lawmakers to support a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said in an interview with Bloomberg published on Feb. 8.
"We still have enough people who want to fight — there is no choice, actually for us, we are defending our homes — but we’re running out of equipment, especially missiles and interceptors," Markarova told Bloomberg. "We need this support yesterday.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, said in a recent statement that the country is facing a "critical" shortage of artillery shells.
Umerov said that Russia presently possesses the capability to launch three times the number of shells per day compared to Ukraine.
Markarova expressed renewed optimism that a $95 billion "Plan B" funding package for Ukraine and Israel will successfully pass through Congress.
The U.S. Senate on Feb. 8 voted to proceed with a stripped-down foreign aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan without reforms to border policy, potentially paving the way for passage after Republicans blocked a bipartisan border security and foreign aid bill.
“I was so happy to hear that it was a very strong bipartisan support, not yet final of course, just the first step in the right direction,” she said. “There is no alternative to continuing this support.”
Senators may be forced to vote in a session over the weekend, a rare occurrence for the chamber.
It's not yet certain that the bill will be able to win the votes needed for final passage in the Senate, and its fate in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is uncertain, with Speaker Mike Johnson vowing that a previous version of the bill would be "dead on arrival."
“We have to do everything possible in order for the U.S. to stay strong and continue supporting us," Markarova added.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
