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.
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.
OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, Dec. 1, 2023. (Furkan Abdula/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will hold a special meeting on Feb. 23 to highlight the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine the following day, Ukrinform reported on Feb. 20.
"At the request of the Ukrainian delegation, the Maltese presidency will convene a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Friday on the occasion of the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine," Ukraine's delegation announced.
The OSCE Permanent Council is the principal decision-making body for the day-to-day operational work of the OSCE. Council meetings take place once a week in Vienna, Austria.
The UN General Assembly is also scheduled to 'discuss the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine' this Friday. The Security Council will hold an open debate on Ukraine the same day.
According to Ukrinform, Ukraine requested the Security Council debate with the support of Slovenia. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to make a speech.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
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.
Rachel Amran
