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).
Finnish and Nato flags flutter at the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry in Helsinki, Finland on April 4, 2023. (Antti Hämäläinen / Lehtikuva / AFP via Getty Images)
A Finnish volunteer fighter was killed in Donetsk Oblast in mid-July, marking the fourth Finnish national killed fighting for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Association of Finnish War Veterans confirmed on July 30.
The death of the volunteer fighter, whose name was not made public to respect the wishes of the deceased's family, has been confirmed by the Finnish Foreign Ministry, the association told YLE.
Ukrainian officials notified the family about the fighter's death earlier in the month, according to the association.
No additional information as to the cause of death or specific location was released.
Jussi Tanner, head of consular affairs at Finland's Foreign Ministry, told YLE in February that the country estimates that around 20-30 Finnish nationals are currently fighting along Ukraine's front line.
In February, during the last known incident of a Finnish national's death, a 21-year-old male volunteer fighter from eastern Finland was reportedly killed in a Russian airstrike near Bakhmut.
Earlier in the day on July 30, Georgian national Bondo Gagnidze, a volunteer fighter in Ukraine, was also killed in action, Georgia's Foreign Ministry confirmed to the Civil.ge media outlet.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Nate Ostiller
