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.
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 14, 2022. (Photo credit: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The U.S.-based tech company Meta has launched a function to create WhatsApp channels in Ukraine, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov informed on July 24.
"One of the safest messengers in the world is getting even more comfortable and convenient," Fedorov wrote on his Facebook.
"Ukrainians are among the first with access to create their own WhatsApp channels."
According to the minister, the option has been launched in eight other countries.
As Fedorov noted, this function is essential in the face of Russian attempts at destabilization and sowing panic through information space.
WhatsApp Channels will have reliable protection of personal information and their history will be stored on servers for 30 days, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing Meta Warsaw's press center.
The channels will appear separately from users' private chat, Meta told the news agency. Administrators will be able to block the creation of screenshots and forwarding messages from their channel but will not be able to add subscribers, Interfax-Ukraine wrote.
The news agency reported that the launch of WhatsApp Channels in Ukraine took place in cooperation with President Volodymyr Zelensky, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Ukraine.ua and UNITED24 platforms, as well as public organizations.
WhatsApp was co-founded by Ukrainian businessman Yan Kum in 2009 before it was bought by Facebook Inc. (today called Meta) in 2014.
According to Internews, social media are among the most popular ways among Ukrainians to consume news. Telegram ranks as the most-used platform with 60% of respondents using it in 2022.
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.
Daryna Antoniuk
