In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. The aftermath of the Russian strike against the Esman community in Sumy Oblast on May 10, 2024. (Sumy Oblast Prosecutor's Office/Telegram)
Russia attacked the Esman community in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast on Oct. 8 with guided bombs, killing two civilians, local military administration reports.
Russian forces struck a total of eight communities in Sumy Oblast in 22 separate attacks throughout the day. Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts.
Throughout the day, Russia assailed the border communities with grenade launchers, drones, and guided bombs. The communities of Mykolaiv, Khotin, Yunakivka, Myropillia, Richkivka, Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, and Nova Sloboda were targeted.
Russia has intensified strikes against the region since Kyiv launched a cross-border incursion into neighboring Kursk Oblast in early August. Sumy Oblast and the Kursk region share a 245-kilometer (152-mile) border.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine's Kursk Oblast incursion has helped prevent the occupation of Sumy Oblast and its regional center, the city of Sumy.
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.
James Beardsworth
