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.
Hundreds of trucks wait in line as an ongoing blockade by Polish farmers continues on the Dorohusk Polish-Ukrainian border crossing on Feb. 20, 2024, in Dorohusk, Poland. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Polish protesters said they would resume blocking cargo vehicles at the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing with Ukraine at 10 a.m. local time on March 13 after temporarily suspending the protests there, Ukraine's Customs Service said, citing the Polish side.
Polish farmers began blocking six border crossings in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and EU environmental policies, with carriers later joining the blockade as well.
Some farmers' leaders said later on March 13 that they would allow all trucks waiting at the Dorohusk-Yahodyn crossing to freely enter Ukraine, but the plan did not come to pass as other organizers opposed it. Trucks going to Poland would still be blocked.
"Some of the organizers wanted this, but unfortunately, there was no full agreement among the protesters, and we finally agreed that we would increase the number of trucks allowed through to five per hour," said Wojciech Los, who heads the farmers' protests near Dorohusk.
Los called it a "gesture toward Ukrainian drivers so that they can return to a country that is in a difficult situation during the war."
Polish farmers, agrarian workers, foresters, and hunters staged a general strike in Warsaw on March 6, a week after Polish farmers organized a mass protest in Warsaw on Feb. 27
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference on March 4 that the border blockade and ongoing trade disputes with Poland have a higher economic cost to Warsaw than Kyiv.
