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).
A view of a damaged apartment building in the city of Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 29 following Russia's missile attack. (Ivan Fedorov / Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration)
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the latest casualty numbers.
Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia with guided bombs overnight on Sept. 29, injuring at least 16 civilians, local authorities reported.
As of 1:58 p.m. local time, the number of injured stands at 16, according to regional police. Among the wounded include a 17-year-old boy.
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said via his official Telegram channel that the city was targeted at least 10 times. Several buildings caught fire following the attack which also destroyed a high-rise and several residential homes. More people may be trapped under the rubble, Fedorov added.
The city of Zaporizhzhia is located less than 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the front lines. Russia has continued to strike civilian targets across Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which is partially occupied by Russian forces.
On Sept. 23, Russia's strike against the city killed one man and injured seven other civilians, including a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, according to local authorities.
Russian troops also appear to be preparing for assault operations in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where "the enemy is amassing personnel," the Ukrainian military's Southern Command spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn said on Sept. 28.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
