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.
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.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi (front left) and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron (front right) in Lviv on May 3, 2024. (Governor Maksym Kozytskyi/Telegram)
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron arrived in the western city of Lviv on May 3 as part of his official visit to Ukraine.
The head of British diplomacy first arrived in Kyiv and held meetings with top Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
During his visit to Lviv, Cameron met the regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi. The minister told the governor that London decided to add Lviv Oblast to the "yellow zone," indicating a lower danger level than in the red zone covering much of the country.
This change will allow U.K. citizens who have businesses in Lviv Oblast and potential investors to get travel insurance in Lviv Oblast.
Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Volyn oblasts are also being reclassified as yellow zones, in addition to previously classified Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivsti, and Ternopil oblasts.
The aforementioned regions are among those less often targeted by Russian strikes and further away from the front lines.
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.
Olena Goncharova
