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.
Ukrainian trucks sit blocked by Polish protesters near the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing point Yahodyn-Dorohusk on Nov. 25, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The Korczowa-Krakovets crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border remains open for trucks heading to Poland despite initial reports that Polish protesters would resume the blockade on March 13, Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on March 14.
Polish farmers began blocking six border crossings, including Korczowa-Krakovets, in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and EU environmental policies.
The protesters recently suspended the blockade of trucks at Korcozwa-Krakovets. Although Ukraine's Customs Service initially said that, according to the Polish side, the blockade was to resume there on March 13, this did not come to pass.
"We had preliminary information that they were planning to renew the blockade on March 13, but this did not happen yesterday," Demchenko said on air.
The five other crossings – Dorohusk-Yahodyn, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, Medyka-Shehyni, Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv, and Zosin-Ustyluh – remain blocked for trucks. Approximately 1,050 trucks are waiting on Polish territory at the five blocked checkpoints.
Polish farmers, agrarian workers, foresters, and hunters staged a general strike in Warsaw on March 6, a week after Polish farmers organized a mass protest in Warsaw on Feb. 27.
