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).
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.
A pile of maize grains is seen on the pier at the Izmail Sea Port, Odesa Oblast, on July 22, 2023. (Photo by Stringer/ AFP via Getty Images)
Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Planas Puchades said on Sept. 18 that unilateral restrictions by EU countries on importing Ukrainian grain may be illegal, Reuters reported.
However, the minister added that it "it was up to the European Commission to judge" whether any EU members have broken any laws.
In May, the Commission imposed a ban on sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed in five EU countries: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The nations requested the measure due to fears from local farmers that cheap Ukrainian imports would drive down agriculture prices.
While the Commission decided not to extend the ban after Sept. 15, citing data indicating that Ukrainian imports would no longer negatively impact local markets, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary decided to continue to restrict imports of Ukrainian agricultural products.
The ban does not apply to transiting the grain through the territories of the said countries, however.
Although Bulgaria was not among the countries to prolong the ban, Sofia's decision against the extension revived fears among Bulgarian farmers. Local agricultural workers have blocked main roads across the country in a nationwide protest against Ukrainian imports.
Like his Spanish counterpart, French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau criticized the decision by the three Central European countries: "For solidarity, there needs to be unity... We must keep hold of the two elements, otherwise, the European project is at risk. The single market is a fundamental element."
Ukraine, one of the world's leading grain producers, is seeking alternative routes for its exports after Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17.
One such alternative is the so-called Solidarity Lanes instituted by the EU in May 2022, facilitating the transit of Ukrainian produce via European countries. Some EU members like Romania, Poland, Croatia, or Bulgaria introduced or discussed measures to expand their transit capacity of Ukrainian grain.
