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.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
The Lesia Ukrainka monument in front of the museum building. PHOTO: KRIM.BIZ.UA
The Lesia Ukrainka Museum in Yalta, located in occupied Crimea, has been effectively erased.
Lesia Ukrainka was a notable Ukrainian writer, poet, and activist for Ukrainian freedom, independence, and identity.
The building where the museum once stood now displays a plaque from Soviet times mentioning Lesia Ukrainka, but all other references to her have been removed by Russian authorities.
The museum has been repurposed under a new name, the Yalta Historical and Literary Museum, with exhibitions focusing on Yalta's history, music, and literature, as well as architect Nikolai Krasnov.
The fate of the original exhibits dedicated to Lesia Ukrainka is uncertain, with concerns that they may have been archived, relocated, or possibly destroyed.
This is part of a broader trend of Russian authorities destroying or repurposing cultural institutions in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole.
Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian official heading the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said on June 27 that it is "time to burn everything Ukrainian down to the root" so that "there is no trace left."
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Daria Svitlyk
