Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN - JULY 07: Two Beluga whales swimming off of Norway's Svalbard archipelago on July 7, 2024. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A Beluga whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, which was suspected of being trained to conduct espionage for Russia, was found dead off the coast of Norway on Aug. 31.
Hvaldimir, whose name stems from a combination of the Norwegian word for whale, "hval," and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was first discovered in Norwegian waters in 2019 wearing a harness-mounted camera with the words "equipment of St. Petersburg."
Russia has never acknowledged that Hvaldimir, who became a local celebrity, may have been used to spy on Norway or other countries in the area.
The whale was just around 15 years old when it died, far short of the 60-year life span that Beluga whales can reach. Prior to its death, Hvaldimir was "healthy and had no sign of illness," said a volunteer from a local wildlife conservation organization, prompting some to believe the whale was struck by a boat.
There is a long history of training marine mammals for military purposes, which dates back to the 1950s and was practiced by both the Soviet Union and the U.S. According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia has deployed military-trained dolphins to help protect the entrance to its naval base in Sevastopol, occupied Crimea.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Alessandra Hay
