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.
Kyiv hydroelectric power plant was one of the targets of Russian troops in a mass attack against Ukraine overnight on Aug. 26, 2024. (Ukrhydroenergo)
The Kyiv dam is not under threat of breaching following a recent Russian attack on Kyiv Oblast, Ihor Syrota, the director of the state-owned Ukrhydroenergo hydroelectric energy company, said on Aug. 28.
Russia launched on Aug. 26 its largest attack on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, hitting the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant that is adjacent to the Kyiv dam. Authorities said at the time that the facility suffered "no critical damage."
"There is currently no danger of breach or flooding of the Kyiv dam," Syrota said on air on national television. The Kyiv dam is built over the Dnipro River just north of Ukraine's capital.
The official added that debris removal from the plant is ongoing, and it is currently impossible to assess the full consequences and required repairs. Not a single employee was injured, as the staff strictly followed safety protocols and hid in shelters, the director noted.
"As of today, unfortunately, there is no station (of Ukrhydroenergo) that has not been attacked by Russia," Syrota said.
The occupied Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and the adjacent dam in Kherson Oblast were blown up from the inside by Russian forces in June 2023, with the resulting floods causing devastating economic and environmental damage in southern Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant was hit and heavily damaged during a massive Russian aerial campaign against energy infrastructure in March 2024, though the dam itself was not breached.
According to Syrota, Kakhovka is currently "completely lost" to Ukraine, while the Dnipro station "practically doesn't work" as of today.
Ukrhydroenergo is doing all it can to restore its infrastructure, but it is difficult to make long-term predictions in the light of Russia's ongoing attacks, the director added.
Russia has repeatedly used mass attacks against Ukraine's energy grid to break the country's ability and resolve to fight off the invasion, first during the autumn-winter period of 2022-2023 and then again in the spring of 2024.
After a relative lull over the summer that gave Ukraine a chance to restore some of its capacity, Russia launched fresh attacks in the past few days, again necessitating restrictions on energy consumption.
Dinara Khalilova
