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.
The Russian flag flies atop the Russian State Duma, the nation's lower house of parliament, on July 14, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawmakers of the ruling United Russia political party submitted a draft law to the Russian State Duma on March 11 declaring Russia's 1954 return of Crimea to Ukraine "illegal."
The draft bill, which was submitted to Russia's lower house, claims that the internationally recognized return of Crimea to the then Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic was "illegal and contradicting fundamental principles of a lawful state and international law."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly echoed similar false claims regarding Russia's perceived historical grievances, using them to justify Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The authors of the draft law, State Duma Member Konstantin Zatulin and Senator Sergey Tsekov, alleged that if the bill is passed it would become increasingly difficult for Western allies "to support Kyiv’s intention to take back Crimea."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated that Ukraine's ultimate goal is the liberation of all occupied areas of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, and that any other results of the war would "not be victory."
Crimea was returned to the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in April 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev authorized the formal transfer of Crimea, including the naval city of Sevastopol.
This decision, formally marking the 300th anniversary of the 1654 Treaty of Pereiaslav between Ukrainian Cossacks and Russia, was also motivated by economic rationality and was enshrined in law both by the Supreme Soviet and in the constitutions of both the Ukrainian and Russian SSRs.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Francis Farrell
