Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
A 'shelter' sign is displayed near an entrance to the arrivals terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, on Oct. 9, 2023. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Another evacuation plane with 79 Ukrainian citizens on board left Israel for Romania late on Oct. 19, Ukraine's Embassy in Israel reported on Oct. 20.
This is the fourth evacuation flight organized by the embassy since the fighting in Israel and Gaza broke out on Oct. 7, bringing the total number of rescued Ukrainians to over 500.
The embassy has provided consular assistance for Ukrainian citizens during registration, passport control, and customs procedures.
Meanwhile, over 300 people are on the evacuation list from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave besieged by the Israeli military, and their number is constantly increasing, Ukraine's Ambassador in Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said on Oct. 19.
The militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, launched unprecedented attacks on Israeli settlements on Oct. 7.
Tel Aviv responded by retaliatory airstrikes against Gaza and a total blockade of the enclave. Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed on both sides so far.
The hostilities claimed the lives of a Ukrainian woman in the Gaza Strip and 18 more Ukrainians in Israel, which is reportedly the second highest number of foreigners killed in the conflict, right behind the U.S.
There is a large Ukrainian community in Israel, estimated by the Foreign Ministry as being around 500,000, most of whom left Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Most of them are Jews from Ukraine, but there are also tens of thousands of ethnic Ukrainians.
Anastasiia Lapatina
