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.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech in Strasbourg, France, on Sep. 14, 2022. (Frederick Florin / AFP via Getty Images)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggesting replacing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) with U.S. exports in a phone conversation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 8.
Von der Leyen spoke with Trump three days after his victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Replacing Europe's supplies of Russian LNG was "one of the topics" the two leaders discussed, von der Leyen told reporters in Budapest.
"We still get a whole lot of LNG via Russia, from Russia," she said.
"And why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper, and brings down our energy prices?"
The European Union imposed its first major restrictions on Russian gas, including LNG, in its 14th sanctions package in June. Russia still remains Europe's second-largest importer of LNG, after the U.S.
The phone call with Trump did not involve details on the future of LNG shipments, von der Leyen clarified.
"That is something where we can get into a discussion," she said.
Other topics of the call included E.U.-U.S. relations, defense, and the war in Ukraine, von der Leyen said on X.
Trump's re-election has sparked fears that the new administration in Washington may reduce cooperation with Europe and support for Kyiv, opting instead to pursue a deal with the Moscow favorable to the Kremlin.
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.
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