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.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen during a NATO-Ukraine Council in Defense Ministers Session, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on Oct. 11, 2023. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty Images)
Finland plans to increase its artillery ammunition production in the next few weeks to arm Ukraine, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said in an interview with the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti published on Dec. 5.
The announcement comes amid worries that the EU will fail on its promise to supply Ukraine with 1 million shells by March 2024, just as Russia is ramping up its defense budget.
"We have finalized negotiations on how Finland will continue to increase its munition production to arm Ukraine," the minister said, adding that the final decision would likely be made before Christmas.
"The plan to significantly boost the munition production is currently being published. The goal is to support Ukraine even more than before," Hakkanen commented.
Finland plans to invest tens of millions of euros to hike the production, the minister said.
According to Hakkanen, supporting Ukraine is a crucial issue for Helsinki. The Nordic country made appeals to NATO and the EU to convince larger European countries to also manufacture and supply more arms for Kyiv.
The EU's plan to provide the 1 million shells has been plagued by bureaucracy and protectionism of individual countries. As of Nov. 30, 480,000 shells – less than half of the promised amount – have been delivered or are on their way, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Helsinki announced its 20th military aid package for Ukraine worth 100 million euros ($109 million) on Nov. 17, adding to the total of $1.6 billion in defense assistance pledged since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The Finnish government also proposed changes to the 2024 draft budget later in November to boost aid capacities for Ukraine.
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.
Dinara Khalilova
