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.
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.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shake hands at the end of a contract signing ceremony at the Presidential palace in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 1, 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the Kazakh capital Astana on Nov. 1 on the first leg of a trip to Central Asia that will also see him visit neighboring Uzbekistan.
Macron met with Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and took part in the France-Kazakhstan business forum.
France has seen increased business dealings with Kazakhstan, and has become the country's fifth largest foreign investor, ahead of China, Le Monde wrote on Nov. 1.
"Trade turnover between France and Kazakhstan reached €5.3 billion ($5.6 billion) in 2022 and Kazakhstan supplies around 40% of France's uranium needs."
In addition, Kazakhstan has upped its oil exports to Europe since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Situated politically somewhere between Russia and the West, Kazakhstan has moved to comply with sanctions against Russia and refused to recognize the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, but still retains close economic and poltical ties with Moscow.
There have also been concerns that Russia continues to circumvent sanctions by doing business through third-party countries, including Kazakhstan.
Macron told Tokayev during their meeting on Nov. 1 that he appreciated Kazakhstan's refusal to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kazakhstan was free to develop ties with any country, but also said that Russia valued its relations with the country "very highly."
At the same time, Kazakhstan has long historical ties with Russia and a considerable ethnic Russian minority. It is also a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), along with Russia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Tajikistan.
CSTO troops, with a significant Russian contingent, were deployed to Kazakhstan during violent riots that erupted there in January 2022.
Alexander Khrebet
