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.
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.
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.
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 14, 2022. (Photo credit: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters on Sept. 16 that Ukraine's aerial drone production is expected to increase 120-140 times in 2023, compared with 2022.
Ukraine's aerial drone production has already increased 100 times this year compared to last year, the minister added.
According to Fedorov, Ukraine is conducting tests on AI systems capable of pinpointing targets several kilometers away and bypassing disruptive electronic warfare measures.
"At the moment it's all at the testing stage, but some drones we are buying use AI to recognize targets. In a forest, it can detect a target and recognize whether it's a person, tank, or a certain vehicle. These technologies are being used actively," Fedorov said.
Fedorov vowed that Ukraine would be able to conduct more strikes on Russian warships as a result of its ramped-up drone production.
Citing their sources in the Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), several Ukrainian media outlets reported on Sept. 14 that the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy carried out a drone strike on Yevpatoriia in Russian-occupied Crimea.
According to the media, the drones, coupled with Neptune missiles, destroyed a modern S-400 Triumph air defense system.
Ukraine's military intelligence also reported that a drone and missile strike on a shipyard in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight on Sept. 13 damaged a Russian landing craft, a submarine, and port infrastructure.
Commenting on recent attacks near Crimea, Fedorov said that "there will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships."
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Francis Farrell
