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.
Illustrative purposes only: Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair speaks during a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, March 16, 2020. Blair at that time served as Canada's public safety and emergency preparedness minister. (David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ottawa is preparing a new defense aid package for Ukraine, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said on June 13 during a Ramstein-format meeting in Brussels.
Canada will soon send the first tranche of 2,300 decommissioned CRV7 rocket motors, which were previously used by the Canadian Air Force on CF-18 fighters.
The country's military reportedly stores 83,303 CRV7 air-to-ground unguided rockets, which were taken out of service in the early 2000s. Both Kyiv and the Canadian opposition called on the government to ship them to Ukraine instead of disposing of them in another way.
"Over the past few months, Magellan Aerospace and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) have been testing the rocket motors to ensure their viability following a request from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for this equipment," a statement by the Canadian government read.
Ukraine will also receive 29 Nanuk remote weapons systems from the surplus of the Canadian Armed Forces' arsenal. The Nanuk system, manufactured by Rheinmetall Canada, can be installed on various armored vehicles and used for different purposes.
Canada will also send more than 130,000 rounds of surplus small round arms and has begun delivering the first four of the 50 pledged Armoured Combat Support Vehicles built in Canada.
"The first four vehicles, which are the ambulance variant of the vehicle, will be delivered to Europe in the coming weeks, where Ukrainian troops will be trained in their use," the statement read.
As of May 13, Ottawa has committed 4 billion Canadian dollars ($2.9 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine, which "will allow Canada to deliver military assistance to Ukraine through to 2029," the country's government said.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
