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.
Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan, the head of the Nor Nork district of Yerevan, with Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk in Bucha on June 2, 2024. (Armenian Embassy in Ukraine / Facebook)
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a note of protest to Yerevan after an Armenian delegation visited Bucha earlier in June, Russian state-controlled news agency Russian state-run media outlet TASS reported on June 9.
Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
After the city was liberated at the end of March 2022, mass graves with civilians were discovered, and thousands of war crimes were documented, making Bucha a symbol of Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan, the head of the Nor Nork district of Yerevan, met with Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk on June 2.
"During the meeting, the possibilities of establishing cooperation between the Bucha community and the Nor Nork administrative district of Yerevan were discussed," the Armenian Embassy in Ukraine said on social media.
The Armenian delegation laid "flowers and honored innocently killed residents of Bucha near the memorial complex" and "handed over humanitarian aid in the form of medicines."
"We are proud of the courage of the Ukrainian people and are always ready to support Bucha and other communities affected by hostilities," the Embassy quoted Ter-Margaryan saying.
Russia considers the visit "to be an unfriendly step," Tass said, citing Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Zakharova claimed that the protest note was issued "in connection with the transfer of assistance to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the unacceptable statements made there against Russia."
Recent months have seen a growing rift between Yerevan and Moscow, exacerbated after Russian "peacekeepers" in Nagorno-Karabakh did not prevent Azerbaijan's armed seizure of the region in September 2023.
Daria Shulzhenko
