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.
Reservists drafted during Russia's "partial" mobilization for its full-scale war against Ukraine attend a departure ceremony in Sevastopol, Russian-occupied Crimea, on Sept. 27, 2022. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
Moscow-installed illegal occupation government in Crimea is preparing a new wave of mobilization of locals to the Russian army, reported the Mission of Ukraine’s President in Crimea.
The occupation authorities are installing mobilization points in Crimean cities, with one already active in central Alushta, according to the Aug. 28 report.
Meanwhile, the Russian military enlistment office in Sevastopol is briefing its employees on handing out summonses to residents in coordination with police or Rosgvardia, the Mission wrote.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, Russia plans to mobilize up to 30,000 people and call up 10,000 previously conscripted soldiers in Crimea.
Russian instructors also reportedly conduct military training in Crimea based on their “experience" in fighting against Ukrainian forces, teaching locals field medicine, marksmanship skills, drone control, and mountaineering.
“The occupiers are looking for all possible ways to involve the residents of occupied Crimea in the war against Ukraine,” adds the report.
The Mission cited a recent decree signed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, allowing the "operational headquarters" of occupied Crimea to "coordinate" the work of military units and involve locals in "guarding and fighting against saboteurs on a voluntary basis."
On Aug. 27, the National Resistance Center, run by Ukraine’s special forces, reported that people living in Russian-occupied Crimea were increasingly unhappy with Moscow’s efforts to force them into the army.
Russian proxies throughout the occupied regions of Ukraine have forcibly drafted residents into the Russian military. In the Russian Federation, too, where campaigns to force men into military service have proven deeply unpopular, efforts to entice recruits with financial benefits have increased.
Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula has been under Russian occupation since 2014 following a fake referendum staged by Russia to annex the territory.
David Kirichenko
