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.
Gunner "Molfar," 39, a Bradley IFV crew member of the 47th Magura Mechanized Brigade who took part in the fighting to liberate Robotyne village from Russian invaders, carries a belt of munitions, Zaporizhzhia direction, southeastern Ukraine, on Sept. 6, 2023. (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces have achieved partial success southwest of the village of Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria Group fighting on the southern front lines, reported on Oct. 19.
There have been 34 skirmishes with Russian forces over the past day, the commander of the southern forces said.
Russia lost 322 soldiers and 43 pieces of equipment in the course of fighting, including three tanks, 12 artillery pieces, 13 drones, and other military hardware, he noted.
Ukraine has been recently focusing its efforts around Verbove, a village around 10 kilometers east of liberated Robotyne.
The spokesperson of the Tavria Group, Oleksandr Shtupun, reported an advance of up to one kilometer west of Verbove on Oct. 17.
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.
