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.
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov at Russian President Vladimir Putin's inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7, 2024. (Maxim Shemetov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A drone strike that damaged the Russian Special Forces University of Vladimir Putin in the Chechen city of Gudermes on Oct. 29 may have been launched from Russia's neighboring North Caucasus republics, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
The drone attack hit Chechnya early in the morning, marking the first such instance during the war. Footage shared on social media showed significant damage and a fire at the university building, but no casualties were reported.
The source's statement would indicate that the attack was not one of Ukraine's long-range strikes against Russian territory but a result of a local feud.
One of the most likely versions explaining the attack links it to the deadly shooting in the Moscow office of the retailer Wildberries in September and a conflict between Kadyrov and lawmakers from the neighboring Caucasus republics, the source said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The Chechen strongman accused Bekhan Barakhoyev, Suleiman Kerimov, and Rizvan Kurbanov from Dagestan and Ingushetia of plotting to kill him and warned he would call for a "blood feud" if they did not prove their innocence.
The accusation was related to the Wildberries shooting, which broke out when Vladislav Bakalchuk, the estranged husband of the company's founder, tried to "illegally" enter the building with his security guards.
Several of those involved come from the North Caucasus, including two killed security guards from Ingushetia. Kadyrov has previously said that he supports Vladislav Bakalchuk's effort to stop the planned merger of Wildberries with another company.
Kadyrov did make no specific accusations when reporting on the drone strike in the morning, adding that an investigation is underway.
Martin Fornusek
