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.
Berkut riot police throw stones at anti-government protesters, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 19, 2014. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
The Sviatoshyn District Court in Kyiv announced the verdict on five Berkut riot police officers on Oct. 18, who were accused of killing protesters in February 2014.
While the Berkut riot police division treated protesters with brutality throughout the revolution, which lasted from November 2013 to February 2014, Berkut officers are believed to have killed 50 people in central Kyiv on Feb. 20 alone.
The uprising sparked after pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the long-awaited Association Agreement with the European Union.
A few hundred people came to Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kyiv's central square, to protest this decision, but were forced out on Nov. 29 by Berkut officers who used excessive violence.
The next day, videos showing Berkut officers beating peaceful protesters led to thousands more people taking to the streets. The police’s attempts to clear the streets ended up causing even a bigger backlash, bringing more and more people to join the uprising.
The former deputy commander of the unit, Oleh Yanishevskyi, was declared guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, and two former Berkut officers were sentenced to 15 years in imprisonment.
However, the three men are now in Russia, having been swapped in 2019 in a prisoner exchange.
The only two former Berkut officers who were present in the courtroom were acquitted.
They were also part of the 2019 swap, but returned to Ukraine in 2020 because they had been forced to be a part of the swap and they wanted to prove their innocence, they claimed at the time.
After the judge announced the sentences, the prosecutor said he plans to appeal as the "logic is somewhat unclear," according to Suspilne.
The relatives of the victims also said they will appeal. The wife of one man who was killed told Suspilne that "all of them should be sentenced to life imprisonment," not just Yanishevskyi.
The commander's lawyer told Suspline that he will also appeal the decision.
Alisa Sobolieva
