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.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks during a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Foreign Ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 3, 2024. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Malta on Dec. 5, strongly opposed any agreements resembling past Yalta or Minsk deals that could legitimize Russian aggression.
The comments come as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged to put a swift end to the war in Ukraine and bring both sides to the negotiating table.
"Russia wants a second Yalta or at least a third Minsk. It wants a world of zones of influence where power dictates the rules, changes borders, and deprives people of their right to freedom. But we are clear: there will be no Yalta-2 or Minsk-3," Sybiha said during a closed-door meeting.
This referenced the 1945 Yalta conference on dividing post-World War II spheres of power in Europe between the USSR and Western powers and the unsuccessful 2014-15 Minsk I and II agreements on ending the war in Donbas.
The minister accused Russia of using "peace plans" as a pretext to continue its aggression.
"We have seen what Russian peace means in Bucha, Mariupol, Izium. For them, it means mass graves, ruins of cities, and killed Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainian children are abducted, their names are changed, and they are forcibly assimilated into Russian culture," he said.
Sybiha added that Russia is not genuinely interested in negotiations, urging the international community to focus on Moscow’s actions rather than its words. "Russia continues to expand the war," he warned.
The OSCE meeting in Malta was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, marking his first visit to the EU since the start of the full-scale war. Sybiha called Lavrov a war criminal and left the OSCE plenary hall in protest ahead of Lavrov’s address. Several other foreign ministers and diplomats followed suit in a coordinated walkout.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Oleg Sukhov
