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.
The Security Service of Ukraine, on April 24, 2024, served suspicion papers to Metropolitan Arsenii from the Moscow Patriarchate-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who allegedly passed Russian forces information about Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions. (The Security Service of Ukraine)
Metropolitan Arsenii from the Moscow Patriarchate-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church is suspected of unveiling information about Ukrainian Armed Forces' checkpoints, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on April 24.
According to the investigation, Metropolitan Arsenii, who served in the Svyatohirsk Lavra in Donetsk Oblast, allegedly told parishioners the coordinates of Ukrainian military checkpoints in the Kramatorsk district in Donetsk Oblast during a liturgy.
The liturgy was recorded on video, which was later published on Lavra's website and the local Telegram channel.
The Security Service of Ukraine said that Metropolitan Arsenii, in such a "veiled" way, tried to pass to Russian troops the information on Ukrainian forces' places of deployment in the frontline area.
Metropolitan Arsenii spread pro-Kremlin narratives before Russia's full-scale invasion started in February 2022, according to Ukraine's Security Service. The cleric called the Russian invasion of Ukraine "a civil conflict" in his interviews.
Preventive measures are currently being considered for the suspect as the investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances of the crime. He could face eight years of imprisonment, according to the SBU.
Sources in law enforcement agencies told the Kyiv Independent that the archpriest had displayed support for the "Russian world" ideology and justified Russian aggression.
Victor Tregubov
