Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
The measures target almost 200 ships of Russia's "shadow fleet," 30 companies involved in sanctions evasion, 75 sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, and more.
"Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv. "And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process."
The EU plans to significantly increase tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the current duty-free deal lapses on June 6, the Financial Times reported on May 14, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles as he enters the hall during the We Are Together award ceremony, Dec. 4, 2023, in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)
If given the chance to ask President Vladimir Putin any question, 21% of Russians would ask him when the invasion of Ukraine will end, according to a poll published by the Levada Center, a Moscow-based independent polling organization, on Dec. 5.
The Levada Center surveyed Russians on what kind of questions they would like to pose to Putin ahead of the televised press conference and phone-in with Putin on Dec. 14, called the "Direct Line."
The "Direct Line" is an annual event orchestrated by the Kremlin, in which Russians are told they can send in questions to ask their leader. The event was canceled in 2022.
The Levada Center reported that questions pertaining to when the invasion of Ukraine will end were the most popular type of questions those surveyed would like to ask.
Variations of the questions included "when will there be peace," "when will we win," "when will mobilization end," "what are they doing to end this operation," and "when will the special military operation end," using a euphemism the Kremlin uses to refer to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The second-most popular types of questions pertained to pensions and living standards, both of which 8% of respondents would like to question Putin on.
7% of respondents would like to ask Putin about salaries, while 6% would like to ask about the future of Russia, including asking Putin when he will step down as President.
However, 30% of respondents refused to answer Levada's question, with 10% of them saying that they "wouldn't ask anything," and 20% replying "I don't know, it's difficult to answer."
4% said that they had "no questions," as "everything is fine," while another 4% wanted to simply thank Putin and wish him good health.
The survey was conducted using a representative sample of 1,625 people across 137 settlements of the Russian Federation.
Elsa Court
