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.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrives in the Iranian capital of Tehran for a state visit on Sept. 19, 2023. (Source: Russian Defense Ministry)
A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran on Sept. 19 for talks with the Iranian military leadership, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
Moscow said that the visit aims to strengthen the military ties between the two countries as Russia grows increasingly dependent on foreign support in its war against Ukraine.
Iran has been supplying Russia with Shahed kamikaze drones that the Russian military regularly uses in air strikes against Ukraine.
Russia has even reportedly managed to launch production of domestic-made versions of the drones.
Aside from Iran, the Kremlin has been making overtures to North Korea as well, hoping to secure munitions supplies as Russia is spending its arsenal on a mass scale on Ukrainian battlefields.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Oleg Sukhov
