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.
Illustrative image: Russian soldiers take part in a parade for Victory Day in Moscow's Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2023. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russia has trained 300,000 contract soldiers as reserves for the currently fighting regiments, a Russian official said in an article for the propaganda outlet Krasnaya Zvezda on Dec. 2.
"Seven companies of instructors and eight training companies for specialists... have trained over 300,000 service members," said Ivan Buvaltsev, the head of the training department of Russia's Armed Forces.
The claim comes as Russia's advance in Ukraine's east is picking up pace despite allegedly suffering record losses.
Buvaltsev did not specify when the 300,000 reservists were supposedly trained, but the article's context suggests he refers to the year 2024.
Former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu set up nine reserve battalions to train and prepare contract soldiers to offset Russia’s casualties in Ukraine at the end of 2023.
According to Shoigu, 335,000 people signed up voluntarily to fight in 2023. In 2024, this number was 200,000, according to former President Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia reportedly suffered record losses in military equipment and personnel in the war against Ukraine in November. Moscow's losses steadily grew since the beginning of the fall as Russia continued to advance in the Donetsk sector, aiming to capture the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Only in November, 45,720 Russian soldiers were wounded, killed, or captured and thus unable to continue participating in operations, Kyiv said. This number is equivalent to more than three motorized rifle divisions of the Russian army.
November also saw the record for enemy personnel losses in one day broken: 2,030, the highest figure since Feb. 24, 2022, according to Ukraine's military. As of Dec. 2, Russia lost 743,920 troops, 9,478 tanks, and 19,397 armored fighting vehicles, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said.
Boldizsar is a former Reuters correspondent for Hungary, currently based in Kharkiv, reporting for the Kyiv Independent and various other outlets. He holds degrees in political science, philosophy, and development policy.
Kateryna Hodunova
