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.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) holds a press conference following a House GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol , in Washington, DC, US on April 10, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, for alleged "election interference" related to Zelensky's visit to a Pennsylvania ammunition plant, Fox News reported on Sept. 25.
Johnson alleges that Markarova arranged a taxpayer-funded trip to a battleground state that "purposely excluded" Republicans ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
"I demand that you immediately fire Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova," Johnson wrote to Zelensky in a letter obtained by Fox News.
Zelensky, on Sept. 22, visited the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania to thank workers for producing critically-need 155 mm shells for Ukraine. The factory tour kicked off his visit to the U.S., where he plans to present his victory plan to American leadership.
In his letter to Zelensky, Johnson characterized the factory visit as "a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats."
Republican Congressmember James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, announced on Sept. 25 that he was opening up an investigation into the White House's "misuse of government resources" regarding Zelensky's visit.
"If the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit the Vice President's presidential campaign, this is an abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer dollars," Comer wrote on X.
U.S. support for Ukraine has increasingly become a partisan issue in a heated election season. At a campaign rally on Sept. 24, former U.S. President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine and promised to "get out" if elected in November.
"(U.S. President Joe) Biden and Kamala (Harris) got us into this war in Ukraine, and now they can't get us out," he said.
Johnson maintained that Ukraine still has support from both major U.S. parties in his letter to Zelensky.
"Support for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when the candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are targeted in the media by officials in your government," Johnson wrote.
While congressional Republicans sharply criticized Zelensky's factory visit as election interference, Trump had previously planned a joint appearance with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Pennsylvania this week.
The joint event was later canceled, without details given as to the reasons for the decision.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Sonya Bandouil
