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.
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).
President Volodymyr Zelensky in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Presidential Office's press service)
President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill designed to ensure the predictability of budget policy and to strengthen debt sustainability, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced on Aug. 18.
This step means the implementation of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 10th "structural beacon", and serves as the basis for the implementation of the 12th "beacon" on better budget predictability, better debt management, and the risk management of state guarantees, Zhelezniak wrote on his Telegram channel.
The law restores stipulates that, to be considered by the parliament, budget amendments must be approved by the Finance Ministry.
The legislation also sets limits on state guarantees and resumes the development of the State Debt Management Strategy for 2024-2026, which the Finance Ministry must submit by Oct. 25, 2023.
The law was backed by the parliament on July 27 as part of the efforts to complete benchmarks set by the IMF's program for Ukraine.
In March, the IMF approved an agreement with Ukraine under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for four-year financing aid worth about $15.6 billion, part of an overall $115 billion package.
In a first review of the program in June, the IMF said that Ukraine had made strong progress towards its commitments despite Russian aggression.
According to the organization's statement, the country had met all quantitative performance criteria through end-April and structural benchmarks through end-June.
Under the program, Ukraine has already received around $3.6 billion disbursed by the IMF.
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.
Anna Myroniuk
