Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
The Russia Today (RT) studio in Moscow, Russia, on June 8, 2018. (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian state media channel RT is attempting to push U.S. viewers toward voting for Donald Trump in the presidential election through a network of Western media personalities, Reuters reported on Sept. 6, citing a senior U.S. intelligence official.
American intelligence officials previously warned in July that Russia is planning information campaigns to sow division in U.S. society and undermine support for Ukraine in swing states during the upcoming presidential race.
According to the official quoted by Reuters, RT "has built and used networks of U.S. and other Western personalities to create and disseminate Russia-friendly narratives."
"These actors, among others, are supporting Moscow's efforts to influence voter preferences in favor of the former president (Trump) and diminish the prospects of the vice president (Kamala Harris)."
Reuters said that the official did not provide more details of how these personalities are trying to sway voters.
The U.S. announced on Sept. 4 a sweeping crackdown on supposed Russian election interference, seizing 32 internet domains linked to Kremlin propaganda campaigns and sanctioning several high-profile propagandists working for RT.
The U.S. Treasury Department designated 10 individuals and two entities as part of Russia's coordinated propaganda campaign, nicknamed "Doppelganger."
These individuals included RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Deputy Elizaveta Yuryevna Brodskaia, and Director of the RT English-Language Andrey Kiyashko.
The same day, the State Department designated RT, among other Russian state media, as a foreign mission under the U.S. Foreign Missions Act, requiring RT to notify the department of all personnel working in the U.S. and disclose all property held in the U.S.
RT has been banned from broadcasting in the U.K. and the EU since March 2022, when the Council of the EU announced the channel would be sanctioned due to disseminating "disinformation and information manipulation."
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
Kate Tsurkan
