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.
Illustrative purposes only: A Robinson R-66 flying over the French Alps in February 2015. (Christian Arnal/Wikipedia)
A Robinson R-66 helicopter crashed in Russia's Amur Oblast with a pilot and three passengers on board, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported on June 21, citing authorities.
According to preliminary data, the incident took place on the morning of June 20. It is unclear what caused the crash.
"Information on the number of victims is being clarified," the Eastern Interregional Investigation Department of the Transport Investigative Committee said.
The helicopter took off from a timber processing plan to an area near the Dzheltula River in Amur Oblast, TASS wrote.
The aircraft did not arrive at the destination and an emergency radio alert was sent out soon after, pointing to the helicopter's crash site.
Russian authorities launched an investigation into possible air traffic violations resulting in the death of two or more people through negligence.
TASS wrote that according to media reports, the pilot and the passengers were all found dead after more than a day of search.
Amur Oblast lies in Russia's Far East on the border with China, over 5,000 kilometers (more than 3,000 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
There have been several cases of Russian helicopters and planes crashing during the full-scale war, sometimes resulting in fatalities. Russia's aviation industry took a heavy hit as a result of Western sanctions, often lacking the necessary components to maintain the aircraft.
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.
Abbey Fenbert
