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.
Voters drop off their ballots into a ballot box on March 4, 2024, at the Los Angeles County Registrar in Norwalk, California, ahead of the California Primary election on "Super Tuesday." Photo for illustrative purposes. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
A Russian online disinformation campaign targeting the upcoming U.S. election has begun, Microsoft said in a report released on April 17.
U.S. officials have said that Russia engaged in a widespread campaign of digital disinformation and hacking in the past two presidential elections, with particular effort dedicated to the 2016 election.
The governments of Belgium and Czechia also warned earlier in April that Russia was operating a disinformation and interference network targeting the upcoming EU parliamentary election.
According to the Microsoft report, Russia's campaign to sow disinformation in the U.S. has begun in earnest over the past month and a half but has yet to reach the height of previous efforts.
The focus of the new campaign is to spread "divisive content," including criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine, the Microsoft report said.
One of the more common methods is for Russia to spread fake "whistleblower" narratives, which are then picked up by U.S. media outlets.
"Ultimately, after the narrative has circulated online for a series of days or weeks, U.S. audiences repeat and repost this disinformation, likely unaware of its original source," Microsoft said.
Despite concerns that Russia would increase its usage of AI-based disinformation campaigns, Microsoft said that more traditional influence measures remained the predominant methods employed.
"The simplest manipulations, not the most complex employment of AI, will likely be the pieces of content that have the most impact," Microsoft said.
The views of the two presumptive nominees on Ukraine differ considerably, and the outcome of the election is likely to significantly influence U.S. support for Ukraine.
Martin Fornusek
