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.
Janis Adamsons, Latvia's former Interior Minister, was sentenced to jail for spying on behalf of the Russian Federation. (LTV / Vita Anstrate)
A Riga City Court sentenced Janis Adamsons, Latvia's former Interior Minister, and a Russian accomplice, to jail for spying on behalf of the Russian Federation, Latvia's public broadcaster LSM reported on Nov. 9. Adamsons was accused of espionage, fraud, as well as the acquisition and storage of firearms and ammunition without permission.
The ex-deputy was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail. The second defendant, Russian citizen Gennady Silonov, was also found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison.
"Adamsons collected secret and unclassified information for the Russian secret services, in an illegal, systematic and targeted way," Riga City Court judge Erlens Ernstsons stated.
He was detained on suspicion of espionage in spring of 2021. Adamsons was reportedly able to transmit information of varying degrees of secrecy to Russia for four years.
According to the prosecution team, "Adamsons was not interested in collaborating with the Russian secret services for money. More plausibly, he did so out of ideological convictions,"
Adamsons, 67, worked as the head of Latvia's Interior Ministry between 1994-1995 and served as a lawmaker for six parliament terms before his arrest in 2021.
Gennady Silonov served in the Soviet KGB during the 1980s, the predecessor for the Russian Federation's FSB.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Alexander Khrebet
