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 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).
Workers load bags of refined white sugar onto an elevator at the ED&F Man Ltd. refinery in Mykolaiv Ukraine. (Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hungary will allow the import of Ukrainian sugar again after amending its list of prohibited Ukrainian agricultural products, the Hungarian government said in a resolution on Oct. 9.
Budapest introduced a unilateral ban on Ukrainian imports on Sept. 15 after the European Commission (EC) abolished restrictions on Ukrainian goods in five EU countries: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria.
The amendments cover cane and beet sugar, as well as hard sucrose.
Hungary’s ban included 24 types of products including various meats, wheat, rye, vegetables, and wine.
The restrictions don’t apply to goods that are scheduled for transit to other countries as long as they leave Hungary in 15 days.
The EU imposed the food ban on May 2 after growing complaints from farmers in Ukraine’s neighbors, known as the “frontline five," that Ukrainian goods were flooding the market.
It was extended in June until mid-September.
The EC allowed the ban to expire on Sept. 15 after Kyiv pledged to take action to tighten export controls to neighboring countries.
Poland and Slovakia also imposed unilateral bans, with Warsaw expanding the list to cover rapeseed cake and meal, wheat flour, and corn bran.
In response, Kyiv officially filed a complaint with the WTO against the three countries on Sept. 18, according to a statement published on the Economy Ministry's website.
Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Alexander Query
