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).
General Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, holds a closing press conference after a NATO Military Chiefs of Defence Meeting at NATO headquarters on Jan. 19, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
Ukraine will run out of ammunition and air defense interceptor missiles "in fairly short order" without further support from the U.S., said General Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, in comments during a congressional hearing on April 10.
Cavoli's statement was the latest in a series of increasingly pointed warnings about how the ongoing delay in U.S. aidis weakening Ukraine's position on the battlefield.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 7 that "Ukraine will lose the war" if Congress fails to approve military aid to Kyiv. Ukraine is facing an ongoing ammunition shortage in the absence of further support.
"(Ukraine is) really dependent this year on us...and without our support, they will not be able to prevail."
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been unwilling to bring an aid bill containing about $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine to a vote, even though the Senate passed it in February.
Top Republican officials reportedly said that a vote on the aid for Ukraine in Congress might still be weeks away despite Johnson's assertion on April 1 that it would be held "right after Easter."
In comments at the same hearing on April 10, Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin criticized Johnson's refusal to bring the aid to a vote, saying he should put on his "big boy pants" and make the tough choice.
Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene has threatened to oust Johnson from his position if he allows a vote on Ukraine aid.
Kateryna Denisova
