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.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Penny Pritzker, the US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images).
Ukraine needs to improve its nuclear power capacity to solve the problems with electricity generation caused by Russian attacks, Penny Pritzker, U.S. special representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, said during her visit to Kyiv, NV reported on July 30.
In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure in a renewed assault against the country's energy grid.
Following a wave of mass Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the Energy Ministry has estimated the damage to the country's power grid at more than $1 billion, according to Minister Herman Halushchenko.
In the long run, the Ukrainian government will decide how to generate electricity on its own, but building up nuclear power is a rational quick solution, Pritzker said.
Pritzker added that Ukraine's partners, including the U.S., are currently making every effort to help Ukraine overcome the shortage of electricity generation after Russian missile attacks.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
In April, Energoatom started building reactor units 5 and 6 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant using U.S. technology that would help prevent power outages in case of Russian attacks.
After the reactor units 5 and 6 are built and units 3 and 4 are put into operation, the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant's power generating capacity will exceed the one of the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to Energoatom.
In total, there are three nuclear power plants on Ukrainian-held territory.
The Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant operates two 1000 MW units, the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant has three 1000 MW units, and the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant has two 1000 MW and 420 MW units each.
Due to dwindling energy supplies caused by Russian attacks, Ukraine's largest privately-owned energy provider, DTEK, has warned that Ukrainians may only have electricity for 6-7 hours per day in the upcoming winter.
In a "worst-case" scenario in which Ukraine is unable to repair damaged energy facilities and prevent future attacks, Ukrainians could experience up to 20 hours of blackouts a day, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk told the Kyiv Independent in an interview in June.
Kateryna Hodunova
