The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg on Nov. 29, 2023. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov spoke with a delegation from the Taliban, which had traveled from Afghanistan for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian media reported on June 7.
"Praise the Almighty that you are here," St. Petersburg-based outlet Fontanka quoted Beglov telling the delegation.
The Taliban is officially on a Russian government list of banned organizations. News emerged in April that Russia was considering removing the Taliban from the list after the Taliban received an invitation to attend a forum in Kazan, Tatarstan.
Russia's Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry proposed on May 27 that Russian President Vladimir Putin remove the Taliban from the list of banned organizations.
According to Russian state-controlled news agency TASS, the step would pave the way for Russia to officially recognize Afghanistan's Taliban government, which seized power in 2021 and has not received de jure recognition from any country in the world.
Russia originally designated the Taliban a terrorist group in 2003, along with Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Talibanpreviously ruled over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and enforced strict Sharia, religious law, that brutally persecuted women, political opponents, and religious minorities.
Since returning to power in 2021, the U.N. estimates that 1,000 civiliansin Afghanistan have been killed.
Elsa Court
