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 captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
Photo for illustrative purposes. The entrance to the Russian city of Belgorod, some 40 kilometers from border with Ukraine, on May 28, 2023. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian reconnaissance and special forces blew up a railroad in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, derailing a freight train, Babel media outlet reported on Sept. 12, citing a military intelligence source.
A day earlier, Russian authorities claimed that a diesel locomotive and 11 cars of the freight train derailed at the Novy Oskol-Volokonovka span. The Russian Investigative Committee described the incident as a "terrorist attack" and opened a criminal case.
Babel's source confirmed the train's derailment, saying that it "provided for the logistical needs of the Russian occupiers."
"Stary Oskol-Valuyky railway section is paralyzed," the source claimed.
The Kyiv Independent reached out to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) but has not received a response at the time of publication.
The train derailed due to an explosion on the tracks, the Russian Telegram channel Baza wrote on Sept. 11. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Several sabotage attacks against Russian railways, including fires, explosions, and derailments, have been reported during Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) claimedin January that some of the railway tracks in Russia were targeted by "unknown opponents of (Vladimir) Putin's regime." The agency did not say whether it was involved in the sabotage attacks but said the actions would disrupt Russian military logistics.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Oleg Sukhov
