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.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
The aftermath of Russian strikes against Odesa Oblast on Aug. 2, 2023. (Source: Governor Oleh Kiper/Telegram)
Russian forces launched large-scale drone strikes against Kyiv and Odesa oblasts overnight, local officials reported on Aug. 2.
Some 11 oblasts in total came under attack over the past day, leaving at least two people dead and at least 15 injured, according to the reports.
According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, all the drones launched against Kyiv – more than 10 – have been shot downbut the fallen debris caused damage on the ground.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that debris from a drone fell in the Solomianskyi district, damaging the ninth to eleventh floors of an administrative building, and in the Sviatoshynskyi district. An explosion was also recorded in the Holosiivskyi district.
Debris fell also in the Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast, starting a fire in a residential house, the State Emergency Service said.
No casualties have been reported in Kyiv Oblast.
Odesa Oblast was also targeted by Russian Shahed drones, Governor Oleh Kiper reported.
Some of them were shot down by Ukrainian defenses, but others managed to hit port and industrial infrastructure in the south, starting a fire and damaging a grain elevator. No casualties have been so far reported, Kiper said.
Commenting on the strikes, head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak called for tougher international sanctions against Russia so that it cannot produce arms with which it attacks Ukraine.
"They (Russia) want to increase the quantity (of these arms) to kill people, destroy infrastructure, and start famine in the countries of the Global South," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel.
He also appealed to Ukraine's partners to provide more air defense systems to defend against Russian strikes.
Russian forces launched further strikes elsewhere in Ukraine over the past day.
In Donetsk Oblast, three civilians were injured in Russian attacks, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported.
Russian strikes injured two people in Kurakhove and one in Chasiv Yar. Several houses and civilian infrastructure were also damaged, Kyrylenko specified.
In Kharkiv Oblast, one person was killed and another injured in the attacks, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
A Russian missile attack against the village of Pershotravneve in the Izium district killed a 91-year-old woman and injured a 40-year-old man, who is hospitalized and in severe condition, the governor said.
Russian strikes also damaged a shop and residential houses in Pershotravneve and other civilian buildings across the oblast, Syniehubov added.
In Kherson Oblast, one person was killed and ten injured over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
On Aug. 1, Russian forces hit a hospital in Kherson, killing a doctor and injuring five other members of the medical staff, Prokudin said.
Russia also targeted a school in the Beryslav district, he added.
In the early hours of Aug. 2, Russian forces launched more strikes against Kherson, injuring a 56-year-old woman and 59-year-old man and damaging houses and a bank.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a 42-year-old man was injured and hospitalized following a Russian airstrike against Orikhiv, Governor Yurii Malashko informed.
There were 34 cases of property damage reported across the oblast, he added.
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.
Asami Terajima
