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.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (L) and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on April 21, 2022. (Photo: President's Office)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit Ukraine on July 1 at President Volodymyr Zelensky's invitation, the President's Office announced on June 29.
The trip will take place on the first day of Spain's presidency of the EU Council.
"For the first time, the beginning of a country's presidency will be emphasized by a visit to Ukraine. And this actually says a lot about how important the next six months will be for our Europe," Zelensky commented on the upcoming visit.
"This is a historic time to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU. A Europe of values, a free and strong Europe, a Europe of peace is unthinkable without Ukraine."
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022, just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and was granted candidacy status in June 2022. On June 19, Kyiv announced it has met two out of seven conditions to launch the EU accession talks.
Spain, a NATO and EU member, has continuously supported Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, providing training and military equipment, including Leopard 2 tanks.
Madrid has named coordinated support for Ukraine as one of the issues it will advocate for during its presidency.
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.
Martin Fornusek
