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.
Polish President Andrzej Duda photographed during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York on Sept. 19, 2023. (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with YouTube Channel Zero on Feb. 2 that he believes Ukraine will be able to retake Russian-occupied territories in the Donbas region but voiced uncertainty about the liberation of Crimea.
This prompted reactions from the Ukrainian ambassador and Polish government officials, who reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine's full territorial integrity. Duda himself has been a vocal advocate for supporting Kyiv.
Warsaw has been one of Ukraine's staunchest allies, and the representatives of both the current and previous governments have vowed support for Ukraine's efforts to liberate all of its territory.
Speaking at the interview, the president said that Ukraine and the West must resist Russian occupation and imperialism but added that it is "hard to answer" whether Kyiv will be able to liberate the occupied peninsula.
"I don't know if (Ukraine) will regain Crimea, but I believe it will regain Donetsk and Luhansk," Duda said.
The president said that the peninsula, illegally occupied by Russia since 2014, is a "special place," claiming that "historically, it was in Russia's hands for most of the time."
Crimea has a complex and multifaceted history and has been home to numerous ethnic groups and polities. It was annexed by the Russian Empire in the late 18th century.
The peninsula was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954 and became a part of independent Ukraine in 1991.
Kyiv has vowed to liberate all of the territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea.
Vasyl Zvarych, Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, said on social media that "Crimea is Ukraine: it is and will remain."
"Russia's temporary occupation of Crimea is a war crime for which it will be punished. The liberation of Crimea is a shared task for us and the free world. There is no doubt that we will achieve it," Zvarych said.
"Poland recognizes the independence of Ukraine within its internationally established borders," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
Sikorski is a member of Donald Tusk's coalition government that replaced the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in December 2023. Duda is considered an ally of PiS.
Roman Giertych, a lawmaker of the Civic Coalition (KO), the strongest governmental party, called Duda's comment a "stupid statement."
"I would like to remind Mr. Duda that there are cities in our country that in their history belonged to Poland for a shorter time than to another country," Giertych said.
In the past, Duda said that the liberation of "Crimea and restoration of Ukraine's full territorial integrity are necessary preconditions not just for the security of the Azov and Black Sea regions, but also for the stability of the global security architecture."
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
