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.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
Members of the Black Tulip organization work to identify Russian soldiers whose remains were found near Bakhmut, in Donetsk Oblast, on June 29, 2024. (Pablo Miranzo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The names of over 95,000 Russians who died fighting in Ukraine have been verified in a joint investigative project by the BBC's Russia service and the independent media outlet Mediazona, the BBC reported on Feb. 22.
Over 5,000 names have been added to the list of Russian casualties since Jan. 24. The project has been collecting data on losses since February 2022.
While the project confirmed over 95,000 deaths since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the true death toll is believed to be much higher. Military analysts consulted by researchers estimated that the list likely represents only 45% to 65% of Russia's total casualties.
The current list includes 16,171 Russian convicts who were recruited from penal colonies to fight in Ukraine. The total number of convicts who have died on the front lines is likely much higher. Prisoners could account for a third of Russia's military losses since the full-scale invasion, researchers said.
Russia has been recruiting prisoners for the war in Ukraine since the summer of 2022.
Investigators verified the names of the dead using data from official reports, newspapers, social media, and graveyards.
Russia has not released official figures on its military deaths in Ukraine since September 2022, when the Kremlin claimed only 5,937 personnel had been killed in the war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Feb. 15 that nearly 250,000 soldiers fighting for Russia's armed forces have been killed in the war against Ukraine.
Russian forces have suffered heavy losses in recent months amid Moscow's accelerating offensive in eastern Ukraine. Troop losses reached record levels in November and December, with casualties continuing to mount in 2025.
According to Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, Russia lost more soldiers fighting in the direction of Pokrovsk, a small city in Donetsk Oblast, than its total losses in the Second Chechen War.
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.
Abbey Fenbert
