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.
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).
Lawyers attend the judges' inspection of the reconstruction of the MH17 wreckage, as part of the murder trial ahead of the beginning of a critical stage, on May 26, 2021 in Reijen, Netherlands. Judges and lawyers viewed the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, a commercial flight between Kuala Lumpur and the Netherlands that was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, ahead of a new phase in the trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian suspect.
The Hague District Court found Russians Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, and a Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko guilty of shooting down the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and killing all 298 people on board. The verdict was announced on Nov. 17.
The fourth suspect, a Russian citizen, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted.
Girkin, Dubinsky, and Kharchenko were sentenced to life inprisonment and paying a 16 million euros in compensation to the relatives of the victims. The suspects were tried in absentia.
In its verdict, the court also qualified the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014 as ‘international armed conflict’ and recognized that Russia had control over its proxies in Donetsk Oblast since mid-May 2014.
President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the verdict.
"Holding to account masterminds is crucial too, as the feeling of impunity leads to new crimes," he said.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also welcomed the verdict, saying it was a profound joint effort by Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and Malaysia.
“Today’s verdicts send a message to Russia: no amount of lies can help escape justice. All criminals up the Russian chain of command shall be held accountable,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the court ruling “politically motivated.”
The trial began in March 2020, with four people charged. Out of the four suspects, Girkin is the only high-profile figure – he's a former Russian militant leader who has lived a public life in Russia since 2014.
A Russian Buk missile downed the Malaysian Airlines’ MH17 flight on July 17, 2014. In July, the European Union urged Russia to accept responsibility for downing the airplane. Russia has always denied its involvement and blamed Ukraine.
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