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.
Illustrative purposes only: A road sign that reads “Donetsk Oblast” on a roadside in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on June 21, 2022. (Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the village of Urozhaine in Donetsk Oblast, Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told Interfax Ukraine on July 18.
Earlier media reports suggested that Urozhaine, a village on the southern front line in an area of Donetsk Oblast that borders Zaporzhzhia Oblast, had been captured by Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces withdrew "due to the fact that the enemy destroyed almost everything in Urozhaine," Voloshyn said.
The decision was made "to preserve the lives and health of our personnel who were defending there," Voloshyn added.
"The settlement itself was also almost completely destroyed by enemy shelling. The positions of the Ukrainian defenders were destroyed and keeping personnel there was a threat to the lives of our soldiers."
According to Voloshyn, Russian forces suffer "considerable losses every day."
Urozhaine was liberated by Ukraine in August 2023, having been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on July 14 that it had recaptured the village.
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
