In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
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.
Illustrative purposes only: German soldiers give directions to M983 HEMTT mounted with a Patriot launcher module part of the U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) system on Feb. 18, 2023, in Zamosc, Poland. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Editor's note: This story was updated with Germany Defense Minister Boris Pistorius's remarks.
Ukraine can use German-supplied weapons to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia, Deutsche Welle reported on May 31, citing a German government spokesperson.
Berlin has been long opposed to Kyiv using German weapons to strike at Russian soil, but multiple recent statements and media reports indicated that this position is shifting.
The announcement comes shortly after multiple media outlets reported that according to U.S. officials, Washington has also lifted the ban, but only regarding Russian military targets near Kharkiv Oblast.
The information about the U.S.'s decision was confirmed for the Kyiv Independent by President Volodymyr Zelensky's spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov.
In contrast, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on May 30 that there has been no change in the U.S. policy regarding the ban but did not specifically mention Kharkiv Oblast.
"We believe that Ukraine can be effective by focusing on tactical and operational targets that directly affect the conflict within its boundaries without going after larger geopolitical targets within Russia," Singh said.
A source of the Politico news outlet source also said that Washington had not allowed long-range strikes deep inside Russia with U.S. weapons, limiting its permission to the area near Kharkiv.
Germany Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to Moldova on May 31 that Berlin's decision also applies to the area around Kharkiv, according to Bild journalist Julian Röpke.
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
