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.
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.
Ukrainian soldiers take shelter from Russian shelling in a trench in the direction of Bakhmut on March 22, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russian forces launched five attacks with munitions containing poisonous chemicals against Ukrainian soldiers on the southeastern front lines in the past day, Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria group of forces, said on Jan. 30.
Russia has recently increased its use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, with 81 cases documented only in December, according to the Ukrainian military. The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons in war.
The munitions used by Russian troops in southeastern Ukraine on Jan. 29 were likely K-51 grenades with chloropicrin, according to Shtupun.
"But each such case is investigated separately. Appropriate analyses are made, and then the results are submitted to international institutions," Shtupun said on national television.
Soldiers can protect from the affect of chloropicrin using gas masks, he added.
Ukraine recorded over 400 cases of Russia's use of munitions containing poisonous chemicals from February 2022 to December 2023, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 27.
Most often, Russia's military reportedly uses grenades, such as K-51, RGR, and Drofa-PM, dropping them from attack drones.
