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).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) talk during a bilateral meeting on May 16, 2024, in Beijing, China. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in China for a two-day state visit. ( Contributor/Getty Images)
Editor's note: The article initially quoted a report by the Press Association, which cited Shapps as saying, "lethal aid is now flying from China to Russia." Reuters cited Shapps as saying, "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia."
The U.S. and U.K. have evidence that China is supplying or about to supply lethal aid to Russia, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on May 22, Reuters reported.
Speaking at the London Defense Conference, Shapps said he was declassifying new intelligence to reveal the "quite significant" development and called on the world to "wake up" to the threat it poses.
China officially declares itself a neutral party to Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine and has denied providing lethal aid, but Beijing and Moscow continue to develop closer ties, most recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting his counterpart last week.
U.S. and British defense intelligence can now reveal that "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine," Shapps said in comments reported by Reuters.
"That recent visit we saw, the… 64% increase in trade that we've seen between the two countries, reveals that there is actually a much deeper relationship there," Shapps said, as reported by Press Association.
Shapps did not elaborate on the specifics of the lethal aid he was referring to. He said it was up to democratic states to make a "full-throated case" for a Western values-based international order which requires "more allies and partners" worldwide.
"It's time for the world to wake up. And that means translating this moment to concrete plans and capabilities. And that starts with laying the foundations for an alliance-wide increase in spending on our collective deterrent," he said.
China has insisted that it has not supported either Ukraine or Russia with weapons throughout the full-scale war.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to Western criticism in a press conference last month, claiming the partnership between Beijing and Moscow constituted "normal cooperation."
"China will not accept the accusations and pressuring," Mao said.
Chris York
