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 purposes only: Current Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov listens to a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on April 20, 2022, at the time as the exiled mayor of Melitopol. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
Russia carried out an artillery attack against the village of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the afternoon on March 12, injuring two women aged 63 and 77, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
The police provided the women with first aid and took them to the hospital, according to the governor.
No further details were provided at the moment.
Huliaipole lies mere kilometers north of the front line and some 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of the regional center, Zaporizhzhia.
Russian attacks later on March 12 also targeted the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, starting a fire in a multi-story building, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
