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.
Russian military cadets take part in a rehearsal of May 9's military parade in central Saint Petersburg, Russia on April 23, 2024. (Olga Maltseva / AFP via Getty Images)
The Kremlin will maintain record high defense spending in 2025, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 24 citing draft budget proposals seen by the outlet.
With no immediate end to the war in Ukraine in sight, the Russian government will increase defense spending to 13.2 trillion rubles ($142 billion) in 2025 from a projected 10.4 trillion rubles ($111 billion) in 2024.
In contrast, social spending is expected to amount to 7.7 trillion rubles ($87 billion), or 21.1% of the Russian budget in 2024.
NATO countries have set a goal to spend 2 percent of the country’s GDP on defense in 2024. Russia is spending around 6 percent.
Russia is on track for an intense economic slowdown due to significant labor shortages and constraints placed on the key sectors that backed growth until now, it was reported on Aug. 9.
Labor resources are practically drained while the competition between the military and business for recruits becomes more fierce.
This is likely to limit the further growth of defense-related industries. The banking and construction sectors are no longer protected from the impacts of high interest rates as the government shuts down the state-subsidized mortgage programs.
Despite Russia's GDP growing by 4% in the first quarter of the year, it will likely slow down to 2% in the last half of the year and hit 0.5% - 1.5% in 2025, says Alex Isakov, Russia economist at Bloomberg Economics.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Oleg Sukhov
