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.
A Ukrainian jet fighter pilot, Vladyslav Zalistovskyi. (Blue Helmet/Instagram)
Vladyslav Zalistovskyi, a 23-year-old MiG-29 pilot known by the call sign "Blue Helmet," died during a combat mission, the Defense Ministry's news channel Armiia TV reported on Jan. 8.
This comes as another loss in the ranks of Ukrainian combat aviators amid the full-scale war with Russia.
According to Suspilne, the 114th Tactical Aviation Brigade pilot of Ukraine's Air Force lost his life on the evening of Jan. 5.
The aviator's death was also confirmed by his relatives on social media.
He was known through his Instagram channel named Blue Helmet, where Zalistovskyi published videos of his flights. The account has over 2,200 followers.
Zalistovskyi graduated from the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University in Kharkiv in 2021 and has carried out dozens of combat sorties since the start of the full-scale war, Armiia TV said.
In another incident from last August, three Ukrainian pilots, including well-known aviator Andrii Pilshchykov with the call sign "Juice," died in a mid-air collision between two training jets.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
