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.
Tulsi Gabbard speaks during a Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump campaign rally at Lancaster Airport on Nov. 03, 2024 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
President-elect Trump announced on Nov. 13 that Tulsi Gabbard would take on the role of director of national intelligence, marking a notable shift for the former Democrat who has opposed U.S. support for Ukraine andhad previously been accused of promoting Russian narratives.
"For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican!" Trump said in a statement announcing Gabbard’s selection.
"I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength."
Gabbard, a veteran of the Army National Guard, ran unsuccessfully for president as a Democrat in 2020 but announced her departure from the Democratic Party in 2022. She later campaigned alongside Trump and was part of his transition team.
In early 2022, she echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for the invasion of Ukraine, attributing the cause not to Moscow but to the Biden administration's failure to acknowledge "Russia’s legitimate security concerns."
"This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border," Gabbard wrote on X.
Gabbard also claimed that the U.S. is fueling a proxy war with Russia that could lead to a "forever war."
A 2022 report by The Intercept highligthed that in the days leading up to the 2022 invasion, Russian news reports have featured translated clips of Tucker Carlson, a conservative political commentator, or his guest Gabbard attacking the Biden administration.
After Russia launched its military assault on Ukraine, Gabbard posted the video of her Fox News comments about U.S. sanctions against Russia on Twitter (now X) and suggested, without evidence, that "doing anything to press Putin to stop the invasion of Ukraine could lead to a nuclear war."
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Oleg Sukhov
