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.
A pile of maize grains is seen on the pier at the Izmail Sea Port, Odesa Oblast, on July 22, 2023. Illustrative purposes only. (Stringer/ AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine remains among the top three suppliers of agricultural products to the EU, even though the exports dropped to an almost pre-invasion level in autumn 2023, the European Commission's report said.
As one of the world's leading agricultural producers and exporters, Ukraine's trade is complicated by Russia's threats to the Black Sea maritime transport, which forced the country to seek alternative routes and markets.
"After high agri-food import values from Ukraine in the second half of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, monthly imports in September and October 2023 were almost back at their 2021 level and nearly half lower than at this period in 2022 (-45%)," the report read.
For the period of January and October 2023, Ukraine supplied the European bloc with 12.84 billion euros ($13.9 billion) worth of agricultural produce. Throughout 2022, the exports amounted to 15.3 billion euros ($16.7 billion) and to 11.9 billion euros ($13 billion) in 2021.
"However, different evolutions can be observed across products, with large increases in cereals imports (1.2 billion euros, +39%), sugar (+254 million euros, +652%), and poultry (+148 million euros, +50%), while imports decreased in oilseeds and protein crops (-762 million euros, -29%) and vegetable oils (-688 million euros, -29%)."
Ukraine ranks only behind the U.K. and Brazil in agricultural exports to the EU.
In turn, Ukraine began importing increasingly more EU agricultural products as well. According to the report, the country "was the third destination for which EU agrifood exports grew the most compared to 2022, with an increase of 447 million euros (+19%), across most product categories," reaching 2.8 billion euros ($3.05 billion) from January to October 2023.
Ukrainian imports to the EU rose after the bloc instituted a free trade regime in early 2022 to alleviate the country's economy amid an all-out war. Ukraine's cheaper grain imports raised worries among its European neighbors, who complained of uneven competition and logistical bottlenecks.
After an appeal by Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, the EU temporarily banned grain and several other select agricultural imports in these five countries between May and September 2023. These governments have largely continued the ban past the EU's expiration date.
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.
