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.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron speaks to a reporter outside St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 2, 2024. (Thomas Peter/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Moscow can hit back at "any British military installations and equipment in or outside Ukraine" if Ukraine strikes on Russian territory with U.K.-made weapons, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed on May 6.
British Ambassador to Moscow Nigel Casey was summoned to Russia's Foreign Ministry for a formal protest after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Kyiv had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia.
"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," he said.
The Russian ministry claimed that Cameron "had de facto recognized his country as a part of the conflict," calling his remarks a "serious escalation."
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"Casey was warned that in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with British weapons, any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and abroad could be targeted," the ministry's statement read.
Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in response to Western support for Ukraine, but the threats have so far failed to materialize.
Ukraine has continued to press its Western allies for longer-range weapons, but partners have hesitated about delivering arms that could potentially be used to strike within Russian territory.
Some of Ukraine's allies have sent weapons to Kyiv with no restrictions on strikes inside Russia, according to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze.
Ukraine has also reportedly used U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian military targets Crimea, a sovereign Ukrainian territory illegally annexed by Russia.
Kateryna Denisova
