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).
Presidential Office advisor Artem Shylo. (Video screenshot from the Bihus.info YouTube channel)
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ordered on April 4 the arrest of former Presidential Office advisor Artem Shylo, suspected in a corruption scheme connected to Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia).
He was taken into custody until May 31 with an alternative of almost Hr 30 million (around $770,000) bail.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) first disclosed the investigation on April 2, saying that a former advisor to the Presidential Office is among the suspects while not revealing the name.
Ukrainska Pravda, citing undisclosed sources, wrote that the former Presidential Office advisor is Artem Shylo.
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Seven people have been listed as suspects in the corruption scheme connected to Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said. Aside from the former presidential advisor, the list includes two top Ukrainian Railways officials, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer, and three other people.
They are accused of having embezzled Hr 95 million ($2.4 million) from Ukrainian Railways.
Shylo allegedly arranged the purchase of transformers for Ukrainian Railways at an inflated price in 2022, already after the beginning of the full-scale war.
The company that Shylo allegedly directed the contracts to was owned by a Belarusian citizen with connections to Russia, NABU said. The shell company, registered in Bulgaria, then reportedly purchased the transformers from Uzbekistan at double the sticker price.
The suspects then pocketed the difference, NABU said.
Investigators managed to seize Hr 53 million ($1.3 million) from the bank accounts of those suspected of carrying out the scheme.
Oleg Sukhov
