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 aftermath of a Russian airstrike against Velykyi Burluk, Kharkiv Oblast, on Feb. 28, 2024. (Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Oleksii Kuleba/Telegram)
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed eight people and injured 12 others over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Feb. 29.
Civilian casualties were reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts.
In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces used guided aerial bombs to target the railway station in the village of Velykyi Burluk, killing a 48-year-old man and a six-year-old girl. The child's mother was injured in the strike.
Russian forces carried out the airstrike at around 5 p.m. local time, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Velykyi Burluk is situated in Kupiansk district, which was attacked multiple times over the course of the day.
A Russian airstrike on the city of Kupiansk earlier in the day killed two people and injured five others. The attack hit a church and a cafe, killing a 58-year-old pastor and another man aged 39.
Ukraine's military warned on Feb. 27 that Russia was continuing to concentrate its forces near Kupiansk, which remains a primary target for Russia in the region as a crucial logistics juncture.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak reported that Nikopol and surrounding communities were attacked 12 times over the course of the day.
A 61-year-old woman was killed in an artillery strike during the afternoon.
In total, the attacks damaged 17 homes, 11 commercial buildings, and civil infrastructure in Nikopol.
Russian attacks killed two civilians and injured four others in Donetsk Oblast over the course of the day.
The two people were killed in Siversk and Pereizne in Bakhmut district, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.
Russian attacks killed one person and injured two others in Kherson Oblast over the course of the day, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
Attacks hit critical infrastructure, an administrative building, and a printing house in the city of Kherson. Elsewhere in the region, 40 houses, 12 high-rise buildings, and farm buildings were damaged.
Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia also came under attack over the course of the day, but no civilian casualties were reported.
