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.
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.
A residential building damaged in a Russian missile attack in Sumy, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, late on Nov. 17, 2024. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Editor's note: The story was updated with the latest casualty numbers from Sumy.
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 18 civilians and injured at least 113 over the past day, including children, regional authorities reported on Nov. 18.
Ukrainian forces shot down eight of the 11 drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force said. Russian forces also reportedly attacked Sumy Oblast with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and a Kh-59 aerial guided missile.
Russia launched multiple missile attacks on the city of Sumy overnight, targeting residential areas. Eleven people were killed, including two children, the regional military administration reported.
Eighty-four people were injured in Russian overnight attacks against the city, including 11 children, authorities said.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two people were killed, and six people were injured during the day on Nov. 17, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.
Attacks against the Nikopol district with drones and artillery killed a 58-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman. Three women aged 67, 72, and 57, and two men aged 40 and 32 were injured.
A high-rise building, a transport company building, a medical facility, and other buildings and civilian infrastructure sites were damaged.
A 45-year-old man was also injured and hospitalized with shrapnel wounds following a Russian attack against the Synelnykove district, Lysak said.
Russian attacks against Donetsk Oblast injured one person in the town of Siversk, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.
Three people were injured during Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. An 84-year-old man was injured in the village of Hlushkivka, and two women aged 50 and 65 were injured in the town of Kupiansk.
Four people were killed, and 10 were injured in Russian attacks overnight and on Nov. 17 in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. One more person – a 46-year-old man – was killed during an attack in the morning of Nov. 18, according to the governor.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, three women aged 52, 55, and 61, as well as a 59-year-old man, were injured during attacks against the Polohy district, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv oblasts also came under attack, but no casualties were reported.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
