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.
An illustrative photo of the Telegram Messenger logo is displayed in the Apple Store for iPhone. (Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside of Paris while traveling on his private jet.
Reports by French network TF1 suggest that he was wanted in France due to an investigation into Telegram's lack of moderation, which authorities believe has enabled criminal activities to continue on the platform.
Telegram representatives did not immediately comment on the situation, and neither did French authorities.
Durov, who has a net worth estimated at $15.5 billion, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he subsequently sold.
He has stated that Telegram should remain a neutral platform, resisting various governmental pressures.
According to Durov, Telegram blocks accounts and chatbots that collect data aiding strikes or call for violence.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in March that Telegram poses risks because "any person can create a channel and start writing whatever he wants on it," but it also presents certain benefits, namely, in communicating with people from occupied regions.
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
