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.
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).
American pro-Kremlin fighter and propagandist Russell Bentley in a photo posted on X on April 4, 2024. (Russell Bentley/X)
Russell Bentley, a pro-Kremlin American man who fought against Ukraine in 2014, was killed in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan claimed on Telegram on April 19. Bentley had previously been reported as missing.
Simonyan did not provide any details on his death, and the Kyiv Independent cannot verify the news.
Bentley, age 64, was a U.S. military veteran and self-identified supporter of Russian occupation forces in Ukraine.
Local occupation authorities claimed Bentley went missing on April 8 after a district in occupied Donetsk Oblast was shelled by Ukrainian troops. His wife reportedly told the Mash Telegram channel that he went to see if other residents needed help after the strikes and never returned.
Bentley's wife then claimed that he had been abducted by Russian soldiers amid allegations that he was spying for the U.S.
Bentley originally took up arms with Russian proxy forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014, fighting against the Ukrainian military during Russia's invasion of Donbasunder the call sign "Texas," according to Russian state media.
Bentley then reportedly left the army to produce propaganda videos for Russia's state-owned Sputnik news agency and obtained Russian citizenship.
Rolling Stone released a controversial interview with Bentley in March 2022, where he described how he shifted his political beliefs toward communism.
Bentley was also a convicted felon in the U.S., having been charged with drug trafficking in the 1990s. He briefly served time in prison before allegedly escaping in 1999 and remained a fugitive for almost 10 years before he was recaptured and put back in prison.
In the Rolling Stone interview and other media appearances, Bentley referred to himself as an "information warrior" and repeated Russian propaganda talking points about Ukraine and the West.
Kateryna Denisova
