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.
The Canadian National Flag in Edmonton, Canada, on October 26, 2023. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Canada has once again sanctioned Russian individuals and companies aiding Russia's war against Ukraine.
The sanctions target two individuals and six shipping firms that Ottawa claims have "facilitated the illegal transportation of weapons, including ballistic missiles, from North Korea to Russia."
According to Global Affairs Canada, these entities have acquired weapons used in Ukraine over the past two years, contravening international sanctions against North Korea.
Ottawa claims that these companies are closely linked with the Russian military and involved in the transportation of weapons. They are prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with Canadians.
Since the 2014 Russian invasion into Ukraine, Canada has sanctioned over 3,000 individuals and entities in eastern Europe. Sanctions against Russian nationals since late February 2022 have led to $103 million ($140 million Canadian dollars) being frozen in Canada, an increase from $100 million ($136 Canadian dollars) last fall.
"Our sanctions send a clear message: Canada condemns Russia’s military cooperation with North Korea, which has consequences for security in Europe, the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Canada remains unwavering in its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and its people in the face of the Kremlin’s brutal actions," Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, said in a statement.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Chris York
