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 a video address on Sept. 27, 2023. (Photo via President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on Oct. 10 to resume asset declarations for officials and immediately make them publicly accessible.
On Sept. 12, Zelensky vetoed the previous version of the law, which restored the requirement to submit online asset declarations but failed to make them public.
The controversial bill, approved by the parliament on Sept. 5, entailed blocking public access to the asset declarations for one more year, which sparked wide criticism among Ukrainian anti-corruption activists.
On Sept. 7, members of the European Parliament also asked Zelensky to veto the law due to concerns it would undermine trust in anti-corruption reforms.
Following the veto, Zelensky proposed to reinstate open access to the asset declarations but exclude certain categories of government employees, such as members of the Armed Forces or State Border Guard Service.
However, these exceptions would not apply to military personnel holding or seconded to positions as ministers and deputy ministers or as heads and deputy heads of central and local executive bodies.
The system of compulsory asset declarations was originally instituted as part of the country's fight against corruption following the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution.
At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the requirement for submitting e-declarations was suspended, and public access to the declarations was shut down. Officials have still been able to submit them on a voluntary basis.
Oleg Sukhov
