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.
Kyiv residents walk along Khreschatyk Street near a display of Russian military equipment destroyed by the Ukrainian army on Aug. 21, 2023. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russian soldiers fighting on the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine face equipment shortages and low morale, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its Aug. 21 report.
According to Russian military bloggers, the lack of light transportation vehicles for some units in eastern Ukraine has caused tensions among the ranks. Soldiers cannot operate equipment effectively without proper transportation, and military leadership has resorted to seizing soldiers' privately-owned vehicles.
"Russian personnel feel that they are 'at war' with their commanders," the ISW said.
Another Russian blogger reported that units in Kherson need boats, but Russian authorities have not provided them.
Bloggers and soldiers alike have complained about artillery shortages. Vostok Battalion Commander Alexander Khodakovsky claimed that Russian front-line units lack adequate counterbattery resources due to artillery shortagesand outdated D-20 howitzers.
"Ongoing complaints from Russian personnel suggest that the Russian Defense Ministry is unwilling or unable to address persistent equipment shortages and problems with low morale," the ISW said.
The ISW also pointed out that despite low morale, there is evidence that Russian forces have learned from past mistakes and are making certain improvements. Artillery units may be more acccurate and better able to strike targets.
According to the ISW, a slow response from Western allies is partly to blame.
"The protraction of the conflict resulting in part from delays in the provision of Western aid to Ukraine gives Russian forces time to improve and to learn from their mistakes," the ISW said.
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.
Daria Shulzhenko
