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: A display of Ukraine's new 'Peklo' (Hell) missile-drones in Kyiv on Dec. 6, 2024. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine's military said on April 23 that it struck a Russian facility producing combat drones located more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Ukraine's border.
Independent news channel Astra reported earlier in the day that a Ukrainian long-range drone strike had targeted Alabuga, sharing purported footage of a drone being shot down.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian air defenses shot down one Ukrainian airplane-type drone in Tatarstan at about 12:20 p.m. local time, without providing further details or mentioning Alabuga.
The strike, carried out by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces in coordination with other branches of the military, targeted a plant in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, the General Staff said.
The facility that was hit manufactures up to 300 Iranian-style Shahed drones and their Russian-made variants, Gerans, per day, according to the General Staff. Shahed-style drones are frequently used by Russia in attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
The attack is among Ukraine's deepest strikes into Russian territory since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Ukraine hit targets over 1,000 kilometers last year for the first time, with one attack occurring 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) from the border in Russia's Murmansk Oblast.
The General Staff said that there were "confirmed hits and explosions in the target area," and that the damage to the facility as a result of the attack was still being assessed.
“The strike is a justified response against a strategic military site used to support Russia’s aggression and terror against Ukraine and Ukrainian civilians," the General Staff statement read.
Over 6,000 Shahed-type drones were produced in Alabuga last year, as well as thousands of decoy drones used to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, said Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
Russian forces launch hundreds of drones nearly every night at Ukraine, targeting civilian areas and critical infrastructure. The attacks have intensified in recent months as Moscow continues to reject a U.S.-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, which Kyiv says must include a halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged a temporary freeze on long-range drone and missile strikes, but Kremlin officials have dismissed the idea.
Anna Fratsyvir is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent, with a background in broadcast journalism and international affairs. Previously, she worked as a TV journalist at Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne, covering global politics and international developments. Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in International Communications from Taras Shevchenko National University and is currently an MA candidate in International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Kateryna Hodunova
