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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. Yalta, Crimea, on June 18, 2023. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)
A large-scale cyberattack carried out by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) in late June left at least 250,000 consumers in occupied Crimea and other Russian-controlled territories without communication, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
HUR has reportedly carried out several cyberattacks in recent months.
One attack in June reportedly affected both the networks of consumers and the networks of operators that used the impacted infrastructure on Russian-occupied territories. Representatives of Russian providers call it "the most powerful DDoS attack they have ever experienced," the HUR said.
Russian-backed Miranda Media is one of the most affected providers is the telecom operator, according to the source. Its consumers could not use the network in occupied Crimea, as well as in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, the source added.
Another "significantly affected" provider was FarLine, according to HUR.
The agency also attacked Russia's largest Internet providers operating in the peninsula in late June as well as the servers of propaganda media, and telecom operators, the source claimed.
The work of local accounting systems was reportedly obstructed, while the traffic registration and control system were also attacked, resulting in a long queue of cars trying to cross the illegally-built Kerch Bridge.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Sonya Bandouil
