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.
Anti-Monopoly Committee's chair Pavlo Kyrylenko is under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecution Office (SAPO) over suspected illicit enrichment, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on March 25, citing a statement from the anti-corruption agencies.
The proceedings were reportedly launched on March 22 following a media investigation by Schemes, RFE/RL's investigative project, according to which Kyrylenko's family acquired real estate and cars worth over Hr 70 million ($1.8 million) between 2020 and 2023.
The property included two plots of land near Kyiv, 200 square meters of office real estate in the capital, two crossover cars, three apartments with parking spaces in prestigious residential complexes of Kyiv, and four apartments in Uzhhorod, Schemes reported.
The majority of it was registered under relatives of the official's wife and reportedly acquired when Kyrylenko served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast. None of his relatives own a business and their salary would not be sufficient for such a purchase, RFE/RL noted.
Kyrylenko headed the Donetsk Oblast regional administration from 2019 until 2023, when he was dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyand appointed as a chair of the Anti-Monopoly Committee.
According to Kyrylenko, his family purchased the property thanks to start-up capital that the grandmother of his wife accumulated in the 1990s by selling shares of the Styrol plant in Horlivka, which she received as its employee.
Kyrylenko's family was unable to provide written proof of this to journalists, claiming that the documents remained in Horlivka, a Donetsk Oblast city occupied by Russia since 2014.
Schemes also discovered that Kyrylenko did not properly declare his and his family's residence – a four-room apartment in Kyiv – and a BMW car used by the official's wife.
NABU and SAPO said that the Anti-Monopoly Committee's head is investigated under the article of providing false information in a declaration, punishable by up to two years in prison, and illicit enrichment, punishable by up to 10 years.
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.
Dominic Culverwell
