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.
Andrii Pyshnyi (third from the right), the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, during the launch of the IMF's Ukraine Capacity Development Fund at the IMF-World Bank conference in Marrakech, Morocco, on Oct. 14, 2023. (Andrii Pyshnyi/Facebook)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had launched a fund for supporting reforms in Ukraine, Andrii Pyshnyi, the head of Ukraine's National Bank, said on Oct. 14.
The international organization made the announcement during a week-long IMF-World Bank conference in Marrakech, Morocco.
According to Pyshnyi, donors have already allocated $14 million to the IMF's Ukraine Capacity Development Fund, with the goal being to raise $65 million.
In March, the IMF approved an agreement with Ukraine under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for four-year financing aid worth about $15.6 billion, part of an overall $115 billion package.
In a first review of the program in June, the IMF said that Ukraine had made strong progress towards its commitments despite Russian aggression.
Internal reforms are a crucial step on Ukraine's path toward European integration. The EU Commission presented seven steps Kyiv should carry out in order to launch the accession process.
According to Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine has already "fulfilled the EU recommendations on the necessary legislative work in the judicial and media spheres."
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.
Oleg Sukhov
