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.
A view of ingots of 99.99% pure gold in Novosibirsk, Russia on Sept. 15, 2023. (Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Some Russian banks may be evading sanctions on banknotes by trading gold in the UAE and Turkey, according to a report by Sayari, a financial-intelligence company.
Sanctions on shipping banknotes to Russia were imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The restrictions ban exports of dollars and euros to Moscow.
Sayari's research found that in the first quarter of 2023, some Russian banks imported over $82 million in dollars, euros, and UAE dirhams. One of the financial institutions was Lanta Bank JSC, whose owners also control the mining company GV Gold.
According to the data, the entities that sent cash to Russia also received imports of gold from the country during the same time period.
Gold is one of Russia's most valuable exports, often ranked second after gas and oil. Western sanctions have curbed the trade of Russian gold, halting deliveries to hubs in London and New York and shifting trade to Turkey and the UAE.
Additional sanctions led a large share of exports to move to Hong Kong in 2023.
The Sayari report shows that Russian banks continued to trade gold in exchange for banknotes until July or August of 2023.
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency (NCA) issued a warning in 2023 that Russia used gold as a means of evading sanctions.
New rounds of Western sanctions have aimed to target Russia's sanctions-evasion efforts. Russian media reported on Feb. 1 that Turkish banks have ended relationships with Russian businesses for fear of triggering U.S. sanctions.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Daniil Ukhorskiy
