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).
A woman holds a sign reading "No to genocide in Ukraine!" during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 24, 2023. (Photo by Luis Robayo / AFP via Getty Images)
Russia is financing an extensive disinformation campaign to promote its interests in Latin America, the U.S. State Department said in a statement released Nov. 7.
The State Department said the Kremlin worked with media companies "to undermine support for Ukraine" in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and other Latin American countries.
The U.S. identified three Russian companies that coordinated Moscow's disinformation efforts: the Social Design Agency (SDA), the Institute for Internet Development, and Structura.
According to the State Department, these firms have "a history of proliferating disinformation and propaganda to further Russia’s foreign influence objectives."
The openness of Latin America's media landscape further helped Russia promote pro-Kremlin narratives as if they were organic to local discourse.
The three companies at the helm of the disinformation campaign would put together editorial teams in Latin America and have staff in Russia send the local teams content for editing and publication.
"In effect, this information laundering process would see pro-Kremlin content created in Russia get 'localized' by the curated Latin American staff," the report said.
The Kremlin is increasingly adept at hiding its influence behind a vast network of media proxies and influencers, the State Department said. Collaboration with Spanish and Portuguese-language outlets and the use of aliases helped obfuscate Russia's role in controlling and disseminating certain narratives.
Some stories Moscow pushed were meant to fuel anti-U.S. and anti-NATO sentiment, while others justified the war against Ukraine.
Russia aimed to convince Latin American audiences that "the war against Ukraine is just and that they can unite with Russia to defeat neocolonialism," the report said.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Anastasiia Lapatina
