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.
A shop vendor at a market in Kramatorsk, Donetsk. (Photo by Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased its forecast for Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year to 2% as the country successfully grapples with problems caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The IMF’s World Economic Outlook published on Oct.10 foresees Ukraine’s economy growing by 3.2% next year and 4% in 2028.
The figure is a huge improvement on the organization’s forecast in April which estimated a GDP decline of 3% by the end of 2023.
Russia's invasion caused a major hit to Ukraine's economy, which suffered a whopping 29.1% fall in GDP last year. However, businesses and households have adapted to war-time conditions with declining inflation and stability in the foreign exchange markets, the IMF noted.
Russia’s Black Sea blockade and termination of the grain corridor is impacting Ukraine’s agricultural sector but alternative routes for agricultural products are in place, including ports on the Danube River.
Energy companies are also more prepared for Russian attacks on energy infrastructure following blackouts that began last October.
The Fund, which supported Ukraine with a $15.6 billion loan over four years in March, noted that international assistance has helped the country’s economic recovery.
Foreign reserves amounted to $39.7 billion at the end of September, far higher than the $31.6 billion volume in the same period last year, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said last week.
The IMF predicts unemployment will fall from 24.5% in 2022 to 19.6% this year and 10.6% next year.
At the same time, the report says inflation will drop to 17.7% this year down from 20.2% last year.
Ukraine’s GDP grew for the first time since the start of the war by 19.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, the Kyiv Independent reported on Sept. 25.
The World Bank released its own economic forecasts last week. Its October report predicts Ukraine’s GDP to grow by 3.5% this year.
The Ukrainian Government believes GDP growth will reach 4% at the end of 2023, citing preliminary data from the Economy Ministry that estimated 5.3% growth from January to September.
Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Dominic Culverwell
