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.
Military vehicles are seen on a road at sunset on the fields nearby Chasiv Yar battlefield as fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian troops continues on the second year anniversary of the war in Donbas, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2024. (Narciso Contreras/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Around 20,000 to 25,000 Russian troops are trying to storm Chasiv Yar and surrounding settlements, Nazar Voloshyn, the Khortytsia Group of Forces' spokesperson, said on national television on April 22.
Chasiv Yar is situated in Donetsk Oblast, around 10 kilometers (six miles) west of Bakhmut and 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Avdiivka, cities Russia captured in May 2023 and February 2024, respectively.
Russian forces have been focusing their efforts near Chasiv Yar, which they see as crucial for further advances toward Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, the Ukrainian military said.
Ukrainian troops are fighting off Russian paratroopers with the 98th Guards Airborne Division's 217th Guards Airborne Regiment in the area near Chasiv Yar, Voloshyn said.
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Russian troops are "constantly storming" Ukrainian positions but are failing to gain a foothold and are retreating, he added.
"Chasiv Yar is ours now. The situation around the town is difficult, but the town is under full control of our defense forces. There is no Russian army in the town," the spokesperson said.
Volodymyr Cherniak, a Ukrainian National Guard officer, said earlier that Russian forces "managed to gain a foothold" around the village of Bohdanivka, three kilometers northeast of Chasiv Yar.
Moscow's proxies claimed on April 5 that Russian troops had entered Chasiv Yar's suburbs, but Ukraine's military later refuted that statement.
In an interview with NBC News published on April 21, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia will attempt to capture the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, just west of the Russian-occupied Bakhmut, by May 9.
Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9, a heavily militarized holiday marking the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.
Zelensky's comments align with those made by Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on April 14, amid a deteriorating situation in the region as Ukrainian ammunition and supplies run short.
Asami Terajima
