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 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).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny attends the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium on July 25, 2023. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Czech farmers will join a large-scale protest next week against EU agricultural policies that allow cheap product imports from Ukraine, the Czech news outlet iRozhas reported Feb. 13.
Farmers across Europe have been protesting what they say is increased competition from abroad, particularly Ukraine, as well as EU policies targeting climate change. Polish farmers plan to completely blockade all border crossings between Ukraine and Poland starting Feb. 20 as part of a 30-day general strike.
Farmers from the Czech Republic are planning their own blockade. Protesters will obstruct a highway in Prague on Feb. 19 to bring attention to the demands of Czech farmers. The demonstrators will also send a letter to Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny demanding the country's withdrawal from the European Green Deal.
Demonstrators will then head to border crossings on Feb. 22, to meet farmers of other countries with similar demands.
Agricultural groups from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Bulgaria have protested the EU's Green Deal in recent weeks. The deal includes a plan to halve pesticide use, lower fertilizer use, and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Another major point of protest revolves around Ukraine’s sugar and grain imports, and the competition these products have brought to European farmers. Demonstrators claim that the influx of unregulated Ukrainian imports has driven down prices, limiting earnings for local farmers.
In recent weeks, protests have gone beyond demonstrations and truck blockades. On Feb. 11, Polish farmers stopped three trucks carrying Ukrainian grain and spilled it onto the road. On Feb. 13, farmers in Sofia, Bulgaria spilled milk onto the streets as a sign of protest.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, and plays a critical role in exporting grain globally. Russia’s full-scale invasion has drastically limited supply chain capabilities and threatened worldwide food exports.
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.
Dominic Culverwell
