Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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.
Zelensky holds a phone call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Jan. 29, 2024. (Volodymyr Zelensky / X)
Russia's losses during the offensive in Kharkiv Oblast launched earlier this month are eight times higher than those suffered by Ukraine's armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on May 25.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claim.
Speaking to the Kazakh outlet Vlast, Zelensky said the figure shows Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "has absolutely no regard for human life."
Russia launched a new offensive on May 10 in northern Kharkiv Oblast. Moscow's forces had managed to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) into the region but had been halted by the first line of defense, Zelensky said on May 16.
On May 24, Ukraine's military said it was now conducting counterattacks against Moscow's forces in the area.
"Their breakthrough in the direction of Kharkiv, which occurred a little over two weeks ago, [resulted in] military casualties of 1 to 8 – one Ukrainian to eight Russians," Zelensky said while speaking to reporters on May 24 in the ruins of a Kharkiv print house which was destroyed in a Russian missile attack a day earlier.
Zelensky said he is constantly updated with Russian casualty figures and even before the Kharkiv offensive there were two-three thousand victims a week.
"Two-three thousand families lost their children. He doesn't care at all," he added.
According to Ukrainian figures, Russian losses in Ukraine passed the grim milestone of 500,000 on May 25. The figure could not be independently verified.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
