Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2025. (Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Editor's note: The story was expanded with a comment by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, traveled to Russia to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 11, Axios reported, citing its source and FlightRadar data.
This would mark the third meeting between Putin and Witkoff, who has taken the lead in Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The trip comes a week after Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, met Witkoff and other U.S. officials in Washington and expressed "cautious optimism" about the renewed diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed later on April 11 that Witkoff had arrived in Russia, state-owned news agency TASS reported. He added that the Kremlin will announce whether the U.S. envoy is scheduled to meet Putin.
Trump's push for a ceasefire has stalled as Moscow rejected a full 30-day truce backed by Washington and Kyiv and has repeatedly violated the energy ceasefire agreed upon on March 25.
These developments led to the U.S. president adopting increasingly harsh rhetoric toward Putin, saying he was "pissed off" and "very angry" at the Russian leader over his attacks on President Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility and stalled peace talks.
The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened additional sanctions and tariffs against Russia unless it comes to the negotiating table and scales down attacks on Ukraine but is yet to take the step.
The U.S. also took a tough stance on Ukraine, briefly pausing all military and intelligence assistance in March and pressing Kyiv to sign different versions of an exploitative deal to hand Washington revenue from Ukraine's mineral wealth.
U.S. and Russian officials met in Istanbul on April 10 for the second round of talks about embassy operations, with Ukraine reportedly not being on the agenda. The same day, the two countries carried out a prisoner exchange, with Russia releasing U.S.-Russian national Ksenia Karelina in exchange for German-Russian citizen Artur Petrov.
The two sides also led two rounds of discussions on peace in Ukraine in Saudi Arabia.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
