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.
An enterprise damaged following an alleged rocket attack on Belgorod, Russia, on March 16, 2024. (Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov/Telegram)
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, claimed that Belgorod and the surrounding region came under a rocket attack late on March 16, allegedly resulting in damage and one person injured.
This is the second reported attack against the city in a single day. Two people were allegedly killed in another rocket strike in the morning, according to Gladkov.
Earlier on March 16, Russian anti-Kremlin militias warned Belgorod residents that a "massive strike will be carried out against military facilities and Russian military positions" in the city at 5 p.m. local time (GMT+3).
The militias, which launched incursions into Belgorod and Kursk oblasts on March 12, did not specify whether their own forces would be launching the attack, and Gladkov did not identify the attacker.
The governor announced an hour-long air raid alert in the region at around 5 p.m. Gladkov claimed that 15 projectiles from the Czech-made Vampire multiple-launch rocket launcher were downed by Russian air defenses over Belgorod Oblast.
According to Gladkov, debris from the downed rockets hit an industrial enterprise, starting a fire and injuring one of its employees. Some fragments also reportedly fell into a garden of a private residence in Belgorod. Two houses, a car, and a power line were damaged elsewhere in Belgorod Oblast, the governor alleged.
Russian Telegram channels shared multiple videos supposedly capturing sounds of explosions in the city. One video showed black smoke rising over a building.
According to the Telegram news channel Baza, witnesses reported damage in the village of Razumnoye not far from Belgorod.
Ukrainian officials did not comment on the claims, which cannot be independently verified.
Belgorod lies less than 40 kilometers (around 25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast. Local officials have alleged strikes against the city multiple times throughout the full-scale war, for example, on March 14.
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.
Elsa Court
