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.
Illustrative purposes only: Firearms are displayed at the Beretta booth at the National Rifle Association's Annual Meetings & Exhibits at the Indiana Convention Center on April 15, 2023, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The Italian arms manufacturer Beretta continues to export small arms to Russia through its subsidiary and the companies of Russian arms dealer Mikhail Khubutia, an investigation published by the Russian and Italian news outlets The Insider and IrpiMedia on Feb. 7 said.
According to it, Khubutia and Beretta Industrie SPA control the Russian Eagle LLC, which is the official distributor of Beretta products in Russia.
Of all arms supplied to Russia in violation of sanctions, almost half were made by Beretta-owned companies, the investigation said.
The EU banned the supply of rifled weapons to Russia back in 2014. Still, the export of sniper rifles, pistols, and ammunition through the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union continued.
According to the Russian Federal Accreditation Service, goods of other arms brands owned by the Beretta holding continued to be imported to Russia during its full-scale war against Ukraine: Benelli, Beretta, Beretta Benelli Iberica, Sako, Stoeger and Tikka carbines, Norma, RWS, and Sako ammunition.
In most cases, these weapons were imported either by the Russian Eagle or Khubutia's companies affiliated with it.
In total, more than 835,000 rounds of ammunition and 5,900 small arms produced by the holding have entered Russia since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to the report, Beretta is not the only Italian arms manufacturer whose products end up in Russia. CD Europe SRL, which produces rifles under the Marocchi and Breda brands, also continues to export them to Russia through the distributor Italruzhye LLC.
Abbey Fenbert
