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.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu on a visit to France's President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, May 19, 2022. (Photo Credit: NurPhoto/GettyImages)
Moldova is working with partners to help Ukraine export its grain while taking into account the interests of Moldovan farmers, the country's President Maia Sandu said in an interview with the Romanian-language service of the French public broadcaster RFI on Aug. 18.
"The Republic of Moldova has been offering Ukraine assistance with grain transit since the beginning of the war. Not only now, when the Danube ports were bombed,"Sandu said, referencing Russian attacks against the Ukrainian river ports of Izmail and Reni.
"We are also negotiating with Ukraine, Romania, and the European Commission on how to include the interests of Moldovan farmers and to ensure the transit of grain from Ukraine."
One of the solutions is to make rapid investments in transport infrastructure and increase naval transport capacity, both during wartime and after the peace is concluded, the president said.
Sandu admitted that Moldova's current infrastructure is not sufficiently developed even for the needs of domestic farmers, and Ukrainian exports put it under greater strain.
However, the president emphasized that it is Moldova's duty to help Ukraine: "Ukraine ensures our own peace today."
Commenting on Moldovan farmers threatening to resume protests in the capital in efforts to ban Ukrainian grain imports, Sandu said that the government has also "taken actions to support Moldovan producers."
Agricultural workers in Moldova launched several strikes in protest against Ukrainian grain imports, fearing they threaten their own production.
Similar concerns were raised by farmers in five Central and Eastern EU members, pressuring the European Commission to institute a temporary ban on the domestic sale of certain Ukrainian grain products in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, scheduled to expire by Sep. 15.
Ukraine's grain exports are hampered by Russia's unilateral decision to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17. The deal, brokered by Turkey and the U.N. in July 2022, allowed the country to export its agricultural product amid the full-scale invasion.
Kyiv's partners have since pledged to assist Ukraine with shipping out its produce. The EU announced it will expand its "solidarity lanes," which have facilitated the export of over 45 million metric tons of grain since May 2022.
Moldova and Ukraine's neighbor Romania hopes that it can transit around 60% of Ukrainian grain, pledging to double the monthly freight volume from 2 million metric tons to 4 million.
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.
Martin Fornusek
