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.
Former US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris are shown on screen in the spin room during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Beier / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
American voters are likely to face a surge of misinformation and influence campaigns orchestrated by U.S. adversaries, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials. These campaigns aim to sway the outcome of the upcoming presidential election and undermine trust in the process.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a new assessment on Oct. 7, just 29 days ahead of the Nov. 5 election, when voters will decide the next U.S. president and participate in numerous state and local races.
"We've continued to see actors ramp up their activities as we get closer to Election Day," said a senior U.S. intelligence official, speaking anonymously during a press briefing, according to the Voice of America (VOA).
"They recognize that individuals are already voting, and operations can have a greater impact as we get closer to Election Day," the official added, emphasizing that the election might only mark the beginning of these efforts.
U.S. intelligence officials report that Russia continues to actively run influence campaigns aimed at boosting former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump while undermining the campaign of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
In contrast, Iran is focusing its efforts on aiding Harris by damaging Trump’s campaign. Officials highlighted an ongoing hack-and-leak operation targeting Trump's campaign, which has been traced to three operatives working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that China has so far stayed out of the U.S. presidential race, instead concentrating on influencing American voters to oppose state and local candidates who are seen as unfavorable to Beijing's interests, particularly those who express support for Taiwan.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Martin Fornusek
