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).
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.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi attends the final day of a three-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries in the town of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on April 18, 2023. (Photo: Kyodo News via Getty Images)
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries issued a joint statement on April 18 saying that third parties aiding Russia in its all-out war against Ukraine will "face severe costs."
According to the statement, both undermining and evading sanctions as well as supplying weapons to the Russian military amount to assisting Russia.
The G7 reiterated its commitment to "intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them" and added that Russian assets within the jurisdictions of G7 countries would "remain immobilized until there is a resolution of the conflict that addresses Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The ministers also condemned Russia's continued occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "which could lead to potentially severe consequences for nuclear safety and security" and the "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" of threatening to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The statement expressed support for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) ongoing efforts to stabilize the ongoing situation around the nuclear power plant.
In early April Rafael Mariano Grossi, the general director of the IAEA, visited the nuclear power plant to assess safety and security firsthand, speak with facility engineers, and ensure the rotation of IAEA experts to and from the site.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Alexander Query
