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.
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.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Feb. 10, 2023. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On August 20, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, over 9,600 missiles and nearly 14,000 attack drones have been used against Ukraine.
5,197 of the launched missiles were aimed at civilian targets.
During a meeting of local and regional authorities, Syrskyirevealed that Ukrainian air defense has successfully destroyed more than 2,400 missiles and 9,200 drones.
Syrskyi published statistics about the missile attacks and numbers, and he pointed out the various missile types used by Russian forces, including Kalibr, Dagger, and S-300/S-400 missiles.
Ukraine was primarily targeted with S-300/S-400 missiles, totaling 3,008 strikes. The second most frequently used weapons were Kh-555/Kh-101 cruise missiles, with 1,846 recorded attacks.
Ukraine has air- and ground-launched missiles provided by the U.S., U.K., and France that can reach almost 200 miles from the launch point, but restrictions on the use of missiles against Russian territory remain in place.
The U.S. and at least nine other NATO allies have agreed to send "dozens" of air defense systems in the coming months to Ukraine, including at least four Patriot batteries, according to a joint agreement issued on July 9.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Kateryna Hodunova
