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.
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.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
A fire broke out at the Komsomolsk refinery in Russia's Khabarovsk Krai on April 10, 2025. (112 / Telegram)
A fire broke out on April 10 at the Komsomolsk refinery in Russia’s Khabarovsk Krai, the country’s largest fuel supplier for the Far East, according to the Russian Telegram channel 112.
The blaze erupted in one of the facility's technological units after gasoline reportedly leaked from a column and ignited, sources told the channel. The fire covered an area of approximately 100 square meters, according to Russian emergency services cited by pro-government Interfax.
Authorities said the fire was localized, but the exact cause has not yet been determined.
The Komsomolsk refinery, operated by Russia's state-owned Rosneft, was launched in 1942 and has a production capacity of 8 million metric tons per year.
The refinery provides more than 60% of all petroleum products — including gasoline, diesel, and marine fuel — for the Far Eastern Federal District.
The incident comes a month and a half after another major Rosneft facility, the Ryazan refinery, halted operations following a Ukrainian drone strike on Feb. 24.
Ukraine has launched dozens of strikes against Russian refineries, oil depots, and defense industry sites since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting Moscow's logistics and war economy.
Kyiv agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire during U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11, but Russia rejected the proposal unless it included limits on Ukraine's military capabilities and foreign aid.
A partial truce was reached, covering strikes on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea.
Just two days after the agreement, Ukraine accused Russian forces of violating the truce by striking power facilities in Kherson.
Moscow denied the attack and claimed Ukraine had hit the Sudzha gas metering station in Kursk Oblast — an allegation Kyiv dismissed as a pretext for further aggression.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Kateryna Denisova
