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.
Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 4, 2021. (Photo credit: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Czech government has blocked the bank accounts and frozen the assets of Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Radio Prague reported on July 30, citing Czech Television.
Yevtushenkov was placed on Czechia's sanctions list in June. He holds properties in the town of Karlovy Vary worth over 500 million Czech crowns ($23 million), Czech Television reported.
The Czech public broadcaster said that Yevtushenkov, boasting ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, is the most high-profile Russian businessperson to be targeted by Czech sanctions.
According to Forbes, Moscow-based oligarch Yevtushenkov holds a 59% stake in the Russian investment holding company Sistema, which he founded in 1993.
In 2014, the company was accused of illegally acquiring a controlling stake in the oil firm Bashneft. The shares were returned and sold to state-owned Rosneft while Yevtushenkov was arrested. The case against him was terminated in 2016.
Yevtushenkov made the 2018 "Putin list" released by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018, naming 210 prominent Russian political figures and oligarchs with close links to the Russian dictator.
Together with Czechia, he has also been sanctioned by the U.K., Australia, Ukraine, and New Zealand.
Yevtushenkov's company Kronshtadt - part of the Sistema Group - is reportedly supplying the Russian military with Orion drones. He is also a close friend of Ukraine's ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, according to EU Reporter.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
