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.
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.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) stands next to Friedrich Merz, CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor and CDU federal chairman, ahead of the TV duel between ARD and ZDF on Feb. 9, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. (Michael Kappeler - Pool/Getty Images)
The outgoing German government agreed to release an additional 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in military assistance for Ukraine, a German Finance Ministry spokesperson confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on March 19.
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz has long blocked the package unless it is financed by additional borrowing.
Friedrich Merz, who is set to become the next chancellor after his conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the elections in February, voiced confidence that the additional assistance would be approved as he unveiled massive efforts to boost defense spending by reforming Germany's debt brake.
Merz, who is seeking to build a new government coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD), scored a major win earlier this week after the outgoing parliament approved a spending surge that could unleash up to 500 billion euros ($545 billion) for Germany's defense and infrastructure.
According to Reuters, the parliamentary budget committee should approve the funds for Ukraine on March 21, as long as the Bundesrat, a legislative body representing Germany's federal states, approves Merz's reforms.
Germany is Ukraine's largest military donor in Europe, and its role is likely only to grow as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to reduce American involvement on the continent and restore ties with Russia.
The 3-billion-euro package is in addition to the 4 billion euros ($4.36 billion) already allocated for Kyiv in 2025.
Reuters reported earlier on March 19 that German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies has informed parliament's budget committee that the requirements for additional funds for Ukraine have been met.
This was later confirmed by the ministry's spokesperson to the Kyiv Independent.
The sum of 3 billion euros includes 2.547 billion euros ($2.8 billion) from the German budget, with the rest being reimbursed by the European Peace Facility.
Kukies also plans to authorize some 8.252 billion euros ($8.9 billion) in military aid to Ukraine between 2026 and 2029.
Kateryna Hodunova
