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.
Men cross a makeshift bridge next to a destroyed road bridge on October 17, 2022 in Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers thwarted Russia's plans to make a breakthrough toward the village of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast, Maksym Zhorin, a deputy commander of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said on July 11.
The brigade reported on June 18 that Russian forces were intensifying attacks in the border areas of Luhansk Oblast with the aim of capturing Borova in the neighboring region.
According to the military, Russian forces were suffering heavy losses but were replenishing their numbers.
"The enemy was really planning to make a breakthrough here and advance but failed to capture even a meter of land," Zhorin wrote on social media. The Russian advance was stopped by concentrated fire, mostly using drones, he said.
Despite Moscow's troops' attempts to carry out localized assaults, their main efforts in the brigade's sector "have been thwarted so far," Zhorin said.
Borova was occupied by Russian forces in March 2022 and subsequently liberated later that year during Ukraine's sweeping counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, including in Donetsk Oblast, after it captured the city of Avdiivka in February.
Earlier in July, Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of the embattled town of Chasiv Yar in the region.
Kateryna Denisova
