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.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Screenshot of a video that purports to show a drone shot down over Tatarstan, Russia, on April 23, 2025. (Astra/Telegram)
Russian air defenses on April 23 opened fire against drones in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Tatarstan, the site of a Shahed-type drone factory, independent news channel Astra reported.
Astra and other Telegram channels shared purported footage of a drone being shot down. Shot channel identified the drones as Aeroprakt A-22 and UJ-22 Airborne unmanned aircraft.
Russian air defenses shot down one Ukrainian airplane-type drone in Tatarstan at about 12:20 p.m. local time, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed, without providing further details or mentioning Alabuga.
The Ukrainian military has not commented on the claims, which could not be independently verified.
Alabuga lies more than 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. Ukrainian long-range drones struck the facility last April, aiming to disrupt Russian production of Shaheds and their Russian-made variants, Gerans, which are widely used in aerial attacks against Ukraine.
Over 6,000 Shahed-type drones were produced in Alabuga last year, as well as thousands of decoy drones used to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, said Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
"This year, Russia aims to produce 8,000-10,000 Shaheds/Gerans and 15,000 decoys in Alabuga," Kovalenko said.
Throughout the full-scale war, Ukrainian long-range drones have targeted Russia's industrial and military facilities deep in the rear to undermine its ability to wage its all-out war.
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.
Kate Tsurkan
