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 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).
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.K. Defense Minister Grant Shapps speaks during a press conference in London on Dec. 11, 2023. (Photo for illustrative purposes) (Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)
The British government will supply Kyiv with 100 missiles in May, the U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in an interview with the Sun published on May 18.
Shapps said the new Russian offensive, launched on May 10 targeting Kharkiv Oblast with 30,000 troopsinvolved, should be "a wake-up call to the West."
Russian forces have recently expanded offensive operations in Kharkiv Oblast, forcing Ukraine to deploy more reserve troops, according to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The U.K. defense secretary said that everything we hold dear will be "in peril" if Western allies allow Ukraine to fall to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "tyrannical rule."
"Warm words are not enough. Every nation that values their freedom must step up and provide what they can, as quickly as they can, to ensure the Ukrainian Armed Forces can fight off the illegal invasion,"Shapps said.
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Ukraine Weekly By Olga Rudenko
Since the beginning of May, the U.K. has supplied Ukraine with 80 air defense missiles, delivering 20 more before June, according to the Sun's article.
London also sent Kyiv more than 30 pallets of parts, including anti-mine equipment, over a million rounds of small arms ammunition, 20 Viking armored amphibious vehicles, and over 4,000 items of military clothing.
Shapps added that in 2024, the total amount of aid provided to Ukraine from the U.K. will be worth 3 billion pounds (around $3,8 billion).
"We are committed to reaching 2.5% of GDP on Defense by 2030, and this is the first down payment," Shapps said.
The country has pledged 12.5 billion pounds ($15.6 billion) in support to Ukraine since February 2022, of which 7.6 billion pounds ($9.5 billion) is for military assistance.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Chris York
