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: A Russian Air Force Mi-28 on Aug. 6, 2012. (Artem Katranzhi/Wikimedia Commons)
A Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter crashed in Kaluga Oblast in western Russia, Governor Vladislav Shapsha reported on July 25.
Preliminary evidence indicates that the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction. The helicopter's crew was killed, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The helicopter reportedly fell into a deserted area near the village of Klenki, lying over 100 kilometers (over 60 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. No damage on the ground was reported.
"A task force and rescuers are working on the crash site," Shapsha said on his Telegram channel.
The Mi-28, also known under the NATO reporting name "Havoc," is a two-seat anti-armor gunship helicopter developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
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WTF is wrong with Russia?
Russia has deployed the aircraft in Ukraine during its full-scale invasion. According to the Ukrainian military, Moscow has lost 326 helicopters in combat throughout the all-out war.
The incident follows another helicopter crash last week.
A Robinson helicopter disappeared in the Yakutia region in eastern Siberia on July 19. Its wreckage was found soon after, with the pilot and three passengers killed.
According to unconfirmed reports by Russian media, the three killed passengers were officers of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
There have been several cases of Russian helicopters and planes crashing during the full-scale war, sometimes resulting in fatalities. Russia's aviation industry took a heavy hit as a result of Western sanctions, often lacking the necessary components to maintain the aircraft.
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.
