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.
The national flag of Ukraine and the flag of the EU are flying in the wind on April 24, 2023, in Berlin. (Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)
EU leaders are unlikely to reach an agreement on confiscating profits from Russian assets during their summit starting on March 21, namely because Hungary is against using them to boost Ukraine's military capabilities, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported, citing an unnamed senior European diplomat.
The European Commission has proposed to use 90% of the profits to purchase weapons for Kyiv and allocate the remaining 10% to the EU budget to support Ukraine's defense industry. The proposed measure would allocate around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) to Ukraine per year.
Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, with roughly two-thirds held at the Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear.
The decision must be approved unanimously by EU leaders, who gather for a two-day summit in Brussels between March 21 and 22. The meeting, which will be addressed by President Volodymyr Zelensky via video conference, should tackle a number of issues, but Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda.
While earlier propositions on how to dispose of the funds included supporting Ukraine's reconstruction, "there is a common understanding among most EU member states" that Kyiv crucially needs defense support, DW said, citing the diplomat.
European aid is ever more vital now as assistance from the U.S., a key military donor, has been effectively blocked for months due to disputes in Congress.
Reuters writes that funneling the money to weapons purchases may potentially irk other EU members who maintain a military non-alignment policy, such as Malta, Austria, and Ireland. Even if a final decision is not reached, leaders should indicate how to move forward with the proposal, Reuters said.
The EU is also unlikely to approve a negotiating framework for Ukraine's accession to the bloc, DW's source said. After member states agreed to launch the membership negotiations last December, the EU Commission presented a draft framework for the process on March 12.
"There are member countries that are against opening negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova under the Belgian presidency of the EU," the diplomat told DW without specifying the members. Belgium's presidency over the EU Council concludes on June 30, when it will pass the role to Hungary for another six months.
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.
Nate Ostiller
