In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
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.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Sept. 28, 2024. )Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ukraine and its Western allies should not try "to fight to victory with a nuclear power," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 28.
Since the launch of the full-scale invasion, Russia has repeatedly invoked the threat of its nuclear arsenal to deter Western military support for Ukraine.
In his General Assembly address, Lavrov called Western attempts to defeat Russia "a suicidal escapade."
"I'm not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is," Lavrov said.
Lavrov's remarks come days after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed revisions to Moscow's nuclear doctrine at a U.N. Security Council meeting. Putin announced that Russia could respond to conventional missile strikes with nuclear weapons, and indicated that Moscow would treat any attack backed by a nuclear-armed country as a coordinated assault.
Lavrov also derided Ukraine's peace formula, calling it a "doomed ultimatum" while defending Russia's ongoing occupation of Ukrainian territory.
Russia's escalating nuclear rhetoric coincides with President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington, where he continued to push U.S. President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to use American weapons to strike targets deep within Russian.
The U.S. announced around $8 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine during the visit, but did not signal any changes to its policy around long-range strikes.
Zelensky's spokesperson, Serhii Nikiforov, said during an interview on Ukrainian television that Russia would be "the first to know" if restrictions on long-range attacks were lifted.
"First, it is important to understand that the first to learn about the authorization to strike deep into Russian territory will be the Russians themselves," Nikiforov said.
"They will be the first to know it, and then there will be an official announcement."
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.
Olena Goncharova
