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.
Andrei Belkov, the head of the military construction company linked to Russia's Defense Ministry, in a photo posted on March 15, 2022.
Andrei Belkov, the head of the military construction company linked to Russia's Defense Ministry, was arrested on suspicion of corruption, the state-controlled media outlet Kommersant reported on July 24.
The charges relate to the alleged purchase of equipment at inflated prices and subsequent pocketing of the difference.
According to Kommersant, the charges are not directly linked to Belkov's official capacities and concern a comparatively small amount of money that reportedly went missing, estimated to be around 45 million rubles ($527,000)—allegedly split between several conspirators.
But there may be additional charges in the future, as both the company and Belkov himself were previously supervised by former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who is currently also under investigation on corruption-related charges.
Ivanov, who previously served as the country's top official in charge of the construction of military facilities, was arrested and dismissed from his position in April. It was likely the highest-profile corruption case in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
Various Western countries have sanctioned Ivanov due to his role in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and he was previously the target of a December 2022 investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The investigation alleged that Ivanov profited from construction projects in occupied Mariupol.
Some independent Russian media suggested that Ivanov was actually suspected of treason and that the bribery charges were a cover for a more scandalous crime.
"A bribe is for the public. So far, they don't want to talk publicly about treason," a source in law enforcement told the IStories media outlet in April.
"No one would have detained him for corruption. Everyone there (in the Kremlin) knew about this for a long time," another source said.
The Kremlin has denied the veracity of such suggestions.
Nate Ostiller
