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 captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
A Russian police officer patrols outside the British embassy building in Moscow on September 13, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia said on March 10 it had stripped the accreditation of two British nationals linked to the U.K. Embassy in Moscow, accusing them of espionage and "subversive" activities and ordering them to leave within two weeks.
The move comes as the latest tit-for-tat move in a diplomatic row between London and Moscow.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it had "identified signs of intelligence and subversive work" by a second secretary of the British Embassy in Moscow and the spouse of another British diplomat.
The FSB did not provide evidence to support the claims nor revealed further details of the diplomats' alleged activities.
The British Embassy denied the allegations as "completely baseless," independent outlet Meduza reported, citing the Embassy's spokesperson.
Tensions between Russia and the U.K. have been mounting since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and London threw its military and political backing behind Kyiv.
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.
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