Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
A screenshot of a video reportedly showing the aftermath of a strike on a Russian column in the village of Oktyabrskoe, Kursk Oblast, on Aug. 9, 2024. (DeepState/Telegram)
A column of Russian military vehicles and personnel was destroyed in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the location of an ongoing Ukrainian incursion, Suspilne and the independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo said on Aug. 9.
The attack was corroborated by Rybar, one of the most popular pro-Kremlin Russian Telegram channels, which claimed that a local resident who filmed the video and then handed it over to the Ukrainian media had been arrested.
Videos were circulated on social media, later verified by Suspilne and Agentstvo, that showed a series of destroyed and damaged Russian military vehicles, as well as the dead bodies of Russian servicemembers. In total, more than 14 pieces of destroyed or damaged military equipment were visible in the video.
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A video shared by the crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState on Aug. 9, 2024, appearing to show the destroyed Russian column in the town of Oktyabrskoe, Kursk Oblast. (DeepState/Telegram)
According to Agentstvo, the destroyed column was geolocated to be in the village of Oktyabrskoe, situated around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the larger town of Rylsk and 118 kilometers (73 miles) from the regional capital of Kursk.
It is also some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the town of Korenevo, the closest place where fighting is reportedly occurring.
Russian Telegram channels claimed that the column had been struck by a HIMARS missile, but the claims could not be independently verified.
Some of the vehicles in the video are completely burnt out and destroyed, while others appear to be only partially damaged.
The number of Russian casualties in the attack is unknown, and Moscow has not publicly commented on it yet.
Following a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces across the border days earlier, fighting has continued in the oblast, with Ukraine reportedly making gains deeper into Russian territory. Russia's Defense Ministry acknowledged on Aug. 9 that its forces were fighting the Ukrainian army on the outskirts of the town of Sudzha.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels also claim that Ukrainian forces are some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the town of Lgov, where a crucial highway is located.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the situation in the Kursk region has been declared a "federal emergency."
The state-owned train operator Moscow Railway said on Aug. 8 that the railway stations in Sudzha, Korenevo, and Psel are "temporarily closed to passengers."
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into the Kursk region.
Francis Farrell
