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).
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.
Illustrative purposes only: A soldier bows his head as Ukrainian armored vehicles maneuver and fire their 30mm guns on April 26, 2023, in Donetsk Oblast. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
Berlin and Warsaw had agreed to form an "armored vehicles coalition" to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, the Polish magazine Wprost reported on March 18, citing Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
The initiative, announced by Kosiniak-Kamysz following talks in Warsaw with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will officially begin operations on March 26.
This would be yet another coalition formed by allies to support specific capabilities of Ukraine's Armed Forces. Other such initiatives include an artillery coalition, a fighter jet coalition, or a demining coalition, organized within the framework of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in the Ramsteinformat.
"More partners have already signed up. This is one of the most important coalitions," Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a press conference with Pistorius, specifically naming the U.K., Italy, and Sweden.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Berlin on March 15, meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. The three leaders presented new initiatives to support Kyiv against Russian aggression, including new arms purchases and a plan to start a long-range rocket artillery coalition.
During the press conference in Warsaw, Pistorius and Kosiniak-Kamysz also announced that the two countries would take responsibility for rapid reaction forces in Europe.
"Starting in July, our battlegroups, 2,500 Polish soldiers and 2,500 German soldiers, will be in a state of readiness for rapid response. These are the forces that fulfill the tasks of the strategic compass," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Tensions between NATO and Russia have been mounting since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, with several Western officials warning recently that the alliance should be ready for a possible open conflict with Moscow in the coming years.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
