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).
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.
Maxar satellite imagery showing a closeup view of Kerch Strait and the new damage to the Crimea Bridge which connects Crimea to Russia on July 17, 2023. (Satellite image by Maxar Technologies)
In the Netherlands, construction equipment supplier Dieseko Group B.V. was fined nearly 1.8 million euros ($1.9 million) for its involvement in the illegal construction of the Crimean bridge, violating international trade sanctions.
From 2015 to 2016, the company sold equipment and provided technical support for the bridge project, despite EU sanctions imposed in 2014 against Russia over the occupation of Crimea.
The company pleaded guilty, paid the settlement, and pledged to avoid such violations in the future.
The settlement included a fine of 180,000 euros ($196,000) and then the seizure of 1.6 million euros ($1.7 million) in illegal gains.
The Honorary Consul of Ukraine in the Netherlands noted that seven Dutch companies participated in the bridge's construction.
The bridge, also called the Kerch Bridge, connects the Russian mainland with the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula, and has long been a crucial supply route for the Russian military in Ukraine.
Construction on the 19-kilometer-long bridge began after the illegal 2014 annexation and occupation of Crimea, and was completed in 2018.
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.
Kateryna Hodunova
