Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
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.
Mikoyan MIG-29 fighter jets of the Polish Air Force take part in a NATO shielding exercise at the Lask Air Base on Oct. 12, 2022, in Lask, Poland. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference on March 14 that Poland could transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine within the next four to six weeks, Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported.
Paweł Szrot, the head of the Polish President's Office, said on March 9 that Poland would transfer only a limited number of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
"As far as I know, it will not be a large number of aircraft," Szrot said, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency. "The number will certainly not correspond to the number of (transferred) tanks."
President of Poland Andrzej Duda previously said that Warsaw was ready to transfer its MiG-29 jets to Ukraine as part of an international coalition.
Slovakia's Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad confirmed that Slovakia and Poland were prepared to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in a joint effort.
"I think it's time to make a decision. People in Ukraine are dying," Nad wrote, adding that it was "inhumane and irresponsible" to politicize the war.
Prior tot that on March 1, Nad told the Associated Press that his country was considering transferring 10 of its 11 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, with the last one going to a museum.
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