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.
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.
Cars drive on roads on April 30, 2024 in Sumy, Ukraine (Yehor Kryvoruchko/Kordon.Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images).
One person has been injured after a Russian missile strike damaged a hospital building and energy infrastructure in the north-eastern city of Sumy, regional authorities said on Aug. 13.
Sumy Oblast Military Administration said earlier in the morning that Russian forces struck an infrastructure facility in the city, located some 30 kilometers west of the Russia-Ukraine border.
A later post on Telegram said "a power line, gas pipeline, a hospital building, and several cars" had been damaged in the strike, adding that one person had been injured.
"Part of the population of the city of Sumy remained without electricity and gas supply," it added.
Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine last week launched a surprise incursion.
A few days after the launch of the attack, Russian troops significantly increased the use of guided aerial bombs near the border areas of Sumy Oblast, Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said.
About 20,000 people need to be evacuated from settlements in the Oblast, Ukraine's National Police said on Aug. 9.
Ukrainian air defense shot down 30 of the 38 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on Aug. 13, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.
Russia launched the drones from the Russian port town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, and Russia's Kursk Oblast, while two ballistic missiles were launched from Voronezh Oblast, according to the Air Force.
Aircraft, missile and electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted the drones over Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy oblasts.
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Asami Terajima
