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.
Serhiy Kulish of Team Ukraine competes in 50m Rifle 3-Position Men's Finals on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Asaka Shooting Range on August 02, 2021 in Asaka, Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Ukrainian shooter Serhiy Kulish won a silver medal in the 50m rifle three positions event at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 1.
Kulish snatched Ukraine's second medal in this year's Olympics after fencer Olga Kharlan took bronze in the women's individual saber event on July 29.
The Ukrainian shooter scored 461.3 points, which is 2.3 points less than earned by the winner of the competition, Yukun Liu from China. Swapnil Kusale of India took third place with 451.4 points.
Kulish became the first Ukrainian athlete to qualify for the finals at the 2024 Olympics in shooting. In the qualifiers, he showed the third-best result. It was only the second time in his career that Kulish competed in the Olympic final in this event.
At the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, he kept his chances of a medal throughout the competition, but at the decisive moment, Kulish accidentally shot at an opponent's target instead of his own and ended up in eighth place.
Following his silver medal in Paris, Kulish became a two-time Olympic medalist. In Rio de Janeiro, he became the vice-champion in the 10-meter air rifle event.
Kulish's silver medal at the Paris Olympics is also Ukraine's second medal in the 50m rifle three positions event at the Olympics. Prior to that, in 2008, Yurii Sukhorukov won silver in Beijing.
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.
Kateryna Denisova
