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.
Fragments of a Russian Shahed-136 (Geran-2) UAV found in Moldova on Feb. 13 following a mass attack on Ukraine. (President Maia Sandu / Facebook)
Ukrainian defense forces intercepted 130 out of the 178 Russian attack drones launched at Ukraine during an overnight assault on March 14 that included attacks on energy infrastructure.
The attack involved two Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched from Kursk Oblast and 178 Shahed-type attack drones along with various decoy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to Ukraine's Air Force.
The wave of attacks began at 7:30 p.m. local time on March 14 and continued throughout the night. Russia launched the drones from multiple locations including Orel, Millerovo, Kursk, Bryansk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as Chauda in occupied Crimea.
The Air Force reported that it shot down 130 Shahed-type strike drones and other UAVs over fourteen Ukrainian regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Mykolaiv oblasts.
An additional 38 Russian decoy drones were reported "locationally lost" without causing any damage.
The attack caused damage in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions. Officials have yet to release information about casualties or details of the damage entailed. Reports indicate that the Russian attack hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa Oblast.
Russia has been steadily expanding its air campaigns against Ukraine in recent months, with bombardments by flocks of Shahed drones a nightly occurrence.
Ukraine has recently had some success in counterattacks. On the night of March 10, over 330 Ukrainian drones made it to Moscow. Subsequent strikes have hit Russia's fossil fuel infrastructure.
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Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
