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.
Advisor to the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak meets foreign diplomats to discuss President Volodymyr Zelensky's ten-point peace formula on July 5, 2023. (Source: The Presidential Office)
Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak held a second meeting with foreign diplomats to discuss the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, the Presidential Office said on July 5.
This follows the first round of consultations that took place on June 30, the statement said.
According to the press release, the event was attended by the ambassadors of the G7 countries, the head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and the heads of diplomatic missions of Turkey, South Africa, China, Denmark, Brazil, India, Spain, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, the United Nations, and the Vatican.
The meeting was said to focus on the issues of radiation, nuclear, food, and energy security, as well as the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
"The support of each of you is very important to us, because now there are people at this table who respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of our state, and it is extremely important for us to hear you," Yermak said in his opening remarks.
During the meeting held at the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, special attention was paid to consultations on the release of military and civilian prisoners held by Russia.
To that effect, Major Dmytro Andriushchenko, Commanding Officer of the Azov National Guard Brigade, and State Border Guard Service Lieutenant Oleksandra Kruchenko, defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal who survived Russian captivity and were released in October 2022, attended the meeting at the Coordination Headquarters.
"The release of all prisoners and deportees is one of the points of the Peace Formula initiated by Volodymyr Zelensky, and our state continues active consultations with all interested countries regarding its implementation," Yermak commented.
According to the press release, representatives of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) were also present, including its chief Kyrylo Budanov.
The intelligence officers presented the diplomats with the process of retrieving captured military personnel and civilians and briefed them on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant concerning Russian nuclear terror threats.
Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine on Nov. 15, 2022.
The plan envisages preventing ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees. The proposals also call for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.
On May 21, 2023, the president proposed to hold the Summit of the Peace Formula in July, a "symbolic" time when Ukraine will mark 500 days of defending against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Mark Dietzen
