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).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
A border post with the Polish coat of arms at the checkpoint of the Ukrainian-Polish border near the village of Krakovets in Lviv Oblast on Aug. 16, 2022. (Pavlo Palamarchuk/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Poland has signed a letter of intent with domestic companies to begin producing nitrocellulose and multi-base powders essential for ammunition manufacturing, according to a Polish government report published on Nov. 18.
This marks a significant step in rebuilding Poland's ammunition production capabilities, which currently rely on imports from several European countries and Canada.
The government plans to invest 3 billion zlotys ($750 million) to enhance ammunition production, in response to observations from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
"No one who observes the war in Ukraine and other conflicts in the world today can have any doubts about how important it is to have access to a large amount of ammunition for modern weapons," Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
State-owned companies, including Grupa Azoty and PGZ, agree on the need to establish a factory for the development of these materials.
PGZ board member Marcin Idzik highlighted the need to produce 155mm artillery rounds, to prepare for potential future conflicts involving NATO.
Poland has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine since the start of all-out war in February 2022, providing billions of dollars in military, economic, and humanitarian aid and hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees.
The country has also been a vocal supporter of Ukraine on the world stage, campaigning for Ukraine to receive all the required weaponry to win the war that Russia had begun.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
