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.
U.K. Defense Minister Grant Shapps speaks during a press conference in London on Dec. 11, 2023. (Photo for illustrative purposes) (Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)
The U.K. will not force or persuade Ukraine to accept a bad peace treaty, especially one that entails the loss of territory, said Defense Secretary Grant Shapps in an interview with Times Radio on May 14.
The comments follow reporting by the Sunday Times that U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron had allegedly personally pitched a peace plan to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The U.K. government stressed after the story that its position toward Ukraine had not changed.
Shapps reiterated the government's statement, saying, "There is just no sense at all in which Britain would try to persuade, strong-arm or otherwise, Ukraine into accepting giving up some of their territory."
"That's a decision entirely for Ukraine."
Shapps' comments differed from Cameron's allegedly proposed peace plan that the Sunday Times reported.
According to an undisclosed senior source, the Sunday Times wrote on May 12 that Cameron said that further aid would help Ukraine hold the front lines and give Trump the "best possible conditions" to mediate a peace deal.
According to the outlet's source, Cameron passed this message to Trump: "What are the best conditions in which you as president can make a deal in January? It's both sides holding their lines and paying a price for that."
The U.K. has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since the outbreak of the full-scale war. Cameron visited Ukraine earlier in May, and London recently announced its largest defense aid package for Ukraine worth 500 million pounds ($628 million).
Olena Goncharova
