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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stands in front of a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system during his visit to a military training area on June 11, 2024, in Mecklenburg, Germany. (Jens Büttner - Pool/Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Kursk operation has made one of the most significant contributions to Ukraine's exchange fund, aiding the release of Ukrainians from captivity.
"Today marks two months of our military operations in the Kursk region. And this is a very important phase of the war. Something that has greatly helped and continues to help our country," Zelensky said in his evening address published on Oct. 6.
Ukraine started its offensive into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, claiming to have seized around 100 settlements since then.
"Ukrainians have proven that they can push the war into Russia. And with sufficient support from our partners, we will be able to put pressure on Russia in the way that’s necessary for Russia to realize that the war will gain them nothing," he added.
The offensive involved approximately 15,000 Ukrainian troops who occupied about 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory in the Kursk region. Ukrainian forces also captured hundreds of Russian soldiers. This incursion represents the largest offensive into Russian soil since World War II.
"We will continue to apply even greater pressure on Russia – because only through strength can we bring peace closer," Zelensky concluded.
The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022. Sumy Oblast and the Kursk region share a 245-kilometer (152-mile) border.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Asami Terajima
