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).
Victims of Russia's attack against a grocery store and a cafe in Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, on Oct. 5, 2023. (Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
The death toll of Russia's Oct. 5 missile strike against the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast has risen to 53, Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police, reported on Oct. 10.
"Taking into account still unidentified body parts and reports about missing persons, the final death toll may increase," Bolvinov said at a press briefing, as cited by Suspiline news outlet.
According to Bolvinov, five people still remain missing after a Russian Iskander ballistic missile hit a local cafe during a memorial service for a fallen soldier who was being reburied in the village.
The soldier's relatives, including his widow, son, and mother, were among the 53 people killed in the attack that wiped out over half of the village's population.
Criminologists have examined 135 body fragments retrieved from the scene, and the DNA testing is still ongoing, the police official told reporters.
"From the first minute (after the strike), despite tough moral conditions, we have been collecting the remains of those killed in the village of Hroza and identifying these people. Mutilated bodies had to be collected piece by piece," Bolvinov added.
Alexander Khrebet
