"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).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Odesa, Ukraine, on March 6, 2024. (Prime Minister of Greece website)
Russian troops struck Odesa with a ballistic missile on March 6 approximately 300–400 meters from President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during their visit to Ukraine's southern city's port, Zelensky said in an interview with Italian media outlet Rai News.
The Russian attack occurred when Mitsotakis was being given a tour of the port by the president and his staff. A total of five people were killed in Odesa as a result of the strike, according to Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk.
Zelensky said it was difficult to determine who or what the Russian troops' target was, but in any case, the attack "was beyond common sense."
"We hosted a prime minister of another country, and I am not talking about myself. I am talking about respect for leaders and people of other countries. There is simply no respect from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," the president noted.
The two leaders' staff were not able to react quickly because the missile arrived "very fast" from occupied Crimea and the air raid alert was short, Zelensky said. According to him, the Greek prime minister "was very surprised."
In the speech at the European People's Party conference in Bucharest on March 8, Mitsotakis addressed the Kremlin, saying that "we will not be afraid, we will continue to support Ukraine and its citizens as long as necessary."
The intelligence agencies shows that Russia has attempted to assassinate the president at least 10 times, Zelensky said.
Ukrainian military suggested that Zelensky and Mitsotakis were not the reason behind Russia's missile attack on Odesa. Russian troops regularly attack the southern port city with drones and missiles.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
