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.
Volodymyr Zelensky (R), President of Ukraine, shakes hands with Valerii Zaluzhnyi (L), Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the ceremony celebrating the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence on Sophia Square on August 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 19 that he has a "working relationship" with Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, responding to a question about their alleged dispute.
When asked by a journalist whether Zelensky plans to fire Zaluzhnyi and why he has not commented on the rumors about the dispute, the president asked rhetorically why he should "help somebody to develop the story further."
"He and the General Staff (of Ukraine's Armed Forces) are responsible for the situation on the battlefield. There are many issues to address there," Zelensky said during a press conference.
"I'm waiting for concrete things on the battlefield. There is a strategy, good. I want to see the details. I think that's fair."
The president said he also expects the military leadership to provide a plan to justify a large-scale mobilization.
Zelensky revealed earlier that the commanders proposed to mobilize 450,000-500,000 additional conscripts, adding that the plan still needs to address several key issues.
Earlier, reports surfaced in Western and Ukrainian media about supposed disagreements between Zelensky and Zaluzhnyi, which have received a lot of public attention following Zaluzhnyi's interview on the state of the war for The Economist.
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.
Alexander Khrebet
