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.
Ukrainian soldiers of the 80th brigade firing artillery in the direction of Bakhmut as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 13, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russia has stepped up its offensive on Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut as the Russian regular army and paramilitary group Wagner have improved cooperation, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on April 14.
Ukrainian defenders still hold the western districts of the city, but they have come under particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the past 48 hours, the ministry wrote in its daily intelligence update.
Wagner assault groups reportedly keep conducting the main offensive through the center of Bakhmut, while Russian airborne troops have reinforced some Wagner units on the northern and southern flanks of the operation.
"Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede," concludes the update.
Russia's state-backed private mercenary Wagner Group has been assisting Russia's military in trying to capture Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut for the past nine months as Moscow tries to consolidate its grip over the entirety of Donetsk Oblast.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command, said on April 11 that Wagner mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut would only last two more months if their tactics remained unchanged. He acknowledged that the forecast was subjective, although grounded in the high casualty rates of Wagner troops.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Feb. 16 that Kremlin-backed private mercenary Wagner Group and Russian proxy units active in eastern Ukraine were losing up to 80% of some assault units.
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Francis Farrell
