Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
The Russian navy intelligence collection ship Ivan Khurs is docked at the port of the Sudanese city of Port Sudan on April 10, 2021. (Ibrahim Ishaq/AFP via Getty Images)
Except for the Yamal and Azov landing ships, Ukraine's March 23 missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea could have damaged the Russian military's Ivan Khurs ship, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on March 25.
Ukraine struck two Russian Ropucha-class landing ships, the Yamal and the Azov, in the Crimean city of Sevastopol in the late hours of March 23, Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on March 24. The Yamal was "critically damaged," according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
Ukraine's Navy is verifying information about the possible damage to another Russian warship, the reconnaissance vessel Ivan Khurs, Pletenchuk told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
"There is a suspicion that, most likely, it (the Ivan Khurs ship) was also damaged. As soon as we collect this information from various sources, we will be able to verify it, and then we will be able to operate on it as a fact," Pletenchuk said.
The ship does not serve as an active combat unit but rather performs auxiliary functions to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, he added.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea. Russia has illegally occupied the peninsula since 2014.
As Ukraine's campaign against Russia's navy continues, Russia is redeploying its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea to the relative safety of Novorossiysk, HUR reported on March 21
The Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) recently reported that as of early February 2024, 33% of the fleet's warships had been disabled, including 24 ships and one submarine.
Dinara Khalilova
