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.
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.
A German sign on a road indicates the beginning of the Czech Republic on March 18, 2021. (Nicolas Armer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Czech police arrested a Moldovan man on June 14 under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl in Germany, who disappeared on her way to school on June 3.
German police confirmed that the body of the girl, named Valeriia, was found on June 11, some 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) away from her home in a forest near Dobeln in Saxony.
The area is around 60 kilometers (38 miles) from Germany's border with Czechia.
The girl died as a result of "a violent crime," but the investigation found no signs of a sexual assault, Chemnitz police chief Carsten Kaempf said. The investigation is focused on the girl's "social circle," according to the police.
Czech police 36-year-old man was arrested in a restaurant in Prague on the morning of June 14, the Saxony police said.
"The Moldovan national is strongly suspected of having violently killed the nine-year-old girl from Dobeln," the Saxony police said. "The suspect is currently in the custody of the Czech authorities."
According to the German news outlet NTV, Valeriia had lived in Germany with her mother and younger sister since 2022. Valeriia's parents "are divorced and her father is fighting on the front lines in eastern Ukraine," NTV said.
Kateryna Denisova
