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.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at a news briefing at the White House on Dec. 4, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The U.S. pledged a defense aid package of weapons and equipment for Ukraine worth $300 million, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a press conference on March 12.
This is the first package since last December, as U.S. funds for Kyiv have been blocked by disputes in Congress.
According to Sullivan, the new package was made possible thanks to unanticipated cost savings in contracts that the Pentagon negotiated to replace equipment already sent to Ukraine through previous drawdowns.
Washington can use these cost savings to provide assistance to Ukraine immediately without threatening U.S. military readiness, he noted.
The newly announced tranche includes a large number of artillery rounds and GMLRS rockets for HIMARS launchers.
The assistance package also includes additional round of ammunition, anti-tank weapons, munitions for obstacle clearing, and maintenance equipment.
Sullivan stressed that the package does not replace and should not delay a foreign aid bill that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, which is yet to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. Senate passed the foreign aid bill in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to put it to a vote in his chamber, despite the pressure from the White House and other members of Congress.
"The House has got to pass the supplemental as soon as possible to allow us to continue the flow of vital security assistance to Ukraine, to replenish U.S. military stocks, to invest in our industrial base," Sullivan said.
Despite earlier media reports suggesting that ATACMS long-range missiles would be included in the package, the missiles were notably absent from the Pentagon's list of weapons provided.
Martin Fornusek
