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 truck driver looks out the window of his truck at the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Polish border, April 18, 2023. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn / AFP via Getty Images)
Polish truck drivers plan to block multiple border crossings in Ukraine starting Nov. 6 in a protest against Ukrainian truckers, Reuters reported Nov. 2.
One of the protest's organizers told Reuters that the lack of restrictions governing Ukrainian truckers in Poland was hurting business for Polish drivers.
"Ukrainian transport companies are ... entering without restrictions and carrying out transport operations they have no right to perform," said Jacek Sokol, protest co-organizer and deputy head of the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers.
The demonstrators intend to block trucks at three crossings, granting passage to one truck per hour. Traffic will be blocked at the Dorohusk, Hrebenne-Rava Ruska, and Korczowa-Krakovets crossings.
According to a notice obtained by Reuters, the protesters will not obstruct transit of Ukrainian army equipment or vehicles carrying livestock.
The protesters are demanding renewed restrictions on the number of Ukrainian trucks permitted in Poland. They are also calling for a ban on transportation companies from outside the European Union.
The trucking protest echoes the economic controversy over Ukrainian agriculture products.
Disputes over grain shipments led to strained Urkainian-Polish relations after Warsaw decided to extend the import ban on Ukrainian grain past the EU's Sept. 15 expiration date. Poland maintains that Ukrainain grain imports threaten the livelihoods of local farmers.
Despite the ban, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on Sept. 24 that his country had opened transit corridors for shipments of grain from Ukraine.
Protest organizer Sokol claimed that before Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian transport companies received 160,000-180,000 permits per year for select shipments that required entrance or passage through Poland. He said this did not include licenses for in-country shipments.
"Now these companies are doing whatever they want. There is a complete, uncontrolled influx, just like with grain," Sokol said.
Michael Richter
