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.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will likely be dismissed from his ministerial post next week, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 5, citing government and military sources.
According to the sources, the likely replacement for Reznikov is understood to be Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR.
In a soon-to-be-published interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov reportedly denied any knowledge of an imminent dismissal.
“I have not had any conversations about my resignation from this position,” he reportedly said.
A government source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Reznikov was likely to be replaced in the very near future.
Upon dismissal, Reznikov could be appointed to a new post as Justice Minister, as “no one in the Presidential Office has any doubt” that Reznikov should stay in the government, according to the Ukrainska Pravda article.
According to the report, Denys Maliuska, the current Justice Minister, could be appointed as an ambassador to a Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Europe.
The report hasn't provided information on who will head Ukraine's military intelligence agency if Budanov is appointed as defense minister.
Reznikov, 56, has served as Defense Minister since he was appointed on Nov. 4, 2021, overseeing the ministry throughout the entirety of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
In this time, Reznikov played an important role in the campaigning for and securing of Western military aid that has proved vital to Ukraine's resistance against Russia.
In late January, the Defense Ministry was beset by a high-profile corruption scandal that led to the firing of several top officials.
Ukrainian newspaper ZN.UA reported on Jan. 21 that the Defense Ministry procured large amounts of food products for the military at inflated prices. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has since opened an investigation into the alleged scheme.
Reznikov’s deputy, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, was dismissed from the Defense Ministry on Jan. 24.
On Jan. 31, Reznikov said that an audit of the army's procurement process had been launched on June 29. Its initial results in December found that the procurement system was deficient.
When the ZN.UA article first broke, Reznikov denied any wrongdoing, saying that whoever leaked the procurement documents committed a crime.
A court arrested Shapovalov for 60 days on Feb. 2.
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