Ukraine war latest: Germany threatens 'significant tightening' of Russia sanctions ahead of Ukraine peace talks

Key developments on May 13:

• Germany’s Merz threatens ‘significant tightening’ of Russia sanctions ahead of Ukraine peace talks
• Rubio to attend Ukraine, Russia peace talks in Istanbul, Trump says
• Zelensky to meet Erdogan in Turkey where both will wait for Putin ahead of peace talks
• Ukraine reports destroying Russian Buk air defense system, Uragan rocket launcher
• Former nuclear power plant employee arrested for allegedly helping Russia’s GRU target drone strikes

The European Union is prepared to significantly tighten sanctions against Russia if no progress is made in ending the war in Ukraine this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 13, Reuters reported.

The statement comes ahead of a potential meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on May 15.

Merz said EU leaders support Zelensky’s diplomatic push for a ceasefire but warn of sweeping new sanctions if Putin refuses to engage seriously.

“We are waiting for Putin’s agreement, and we agree that if there is no real progress this week, we want to work together at the European level for a significant tightening of sanctions,” Merz said during a news conference.

An EU official told the Kyiv Independent that the bloc will unveil its next package of sanctions on May 14. The 17th round of EU measures could target additional sectors of Russia’s economy, with new penalties reportedly focused on energy and financial markets.

The EU has imposed 16 sanctions packages since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting military suppliers, Russian state entities, and individuals involved in the war.

Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.

“I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable,” he said. “We support President Zelensky’s efforts, but there must be a real effort from Russia in return — starting with a ceasefire."

‘Not what Putin was expecting’ — What we know (and don’t know) about Ukraine, Russia peace talks in Istanbul

Russian President Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for when, on May 11, he rejected calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire and invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks in Istanbul later this week. In what may have been a surprise for the Russian leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accepting the invitation, saying he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on May 15. “This is not what Putin was expecting,” Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and

The Kyiv IndependentChris York,

Rubio to attend Ukraine, Russia peace talks in Istanbul, Trump says

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on May 13 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials will attend planned peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey on May 15

The announcement comes as international attention centers on Istanbul, after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed hosting direct talks there between Kyiv and Moscow.

Zelensky has said he will attend but the Kremlin has so far stayed quiet about the possibility of Putin attending.

“Our people are going to be going there. Marco is going to be going there. Others are going to be going, and we’ll see if we can get it done,” Trump said during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, would travel to Istanbul to observe the negotiations. Rubio’s participation marks the first public confirmation of Cabinet-level U.S. involvement.

As Ukraine, Russia peace talks loom, all eyes are on Putin’s next move

With just two days to go before Russian-proposed peace talks might begin in Istanbul, the Kremlin is still refusing to confirm whether or not President Vladimir Putin will attend the event. President Volodymyr Zelensky has already said he will meet Putin there, a move that puts the ball very much into the Kremlin’s court. Upping the pressure further, U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 12 that he believes that “both leaders” will be there, thrusting Putin into a delicate diplomatic dilemma

The Kyiv IndependentChris York,

Zelensky to meet Erdogan in Turkey where both will wait for Putin ahead of peace talks

Zelensky said on May 13 that he expects a ceasefire to result from a potential in-person meeting with Putin, which may take place in Istanbul on May 15.

Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Putin chooses to attend the talks there.

“We will be waiting to meet with Putin in Turkey. So that Russia does not manipulate cities and say that Putin is not ready to fly to Ankara, but is ready to fly only to Istanbul,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv during a press conference.

“I have conveyed the signal to President Erdogan, and the Turkish side is ready."

The meeting, if it occurs, would mark the first direct negotiations between the two leaders since 2019 and could signal a breakthrough in stalled diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Kremlin has not confirmed Putin’s participation, while Kyiv continues to demand an unconditional ceasefire.

Russia killed Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina — but not her words or quest for justice

Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina never got to finish writing her book “Looking at Women, Looking at War.” After she was killed in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast in 2023, it fell upon her closest friends and colleagues to do what they could to make sure it would still be published. The book, which Amelina dubbed “a war and justice diary,” is partly a deeply personal chronicle of how Russia’s war led her to set aside her career as one of Ukraine’s mos

The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan

Ukraine reports destroying Russian Buk air defense system, Uragan rocket launcher

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces' attack drones destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system and a Uragan-1 multiple launch rocket system (MLSR), the military branch reported on May 13.

During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected the Buk-M3 and the Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.

Ukrainian forces then launched attack drones and hit the targets, destroying the Buk-M3 system with an estimated value of $45 million, as well as its ammunition. The statement did not specify the time of the attack.

The Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air missile systems are used both by Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine inherited Buk anti-aircraft systems from the Soviet Union, but the weapons typically use Russian-produced missiles. In 2023, Ukraine announced it had converted the systems to fire U.S. missiles.

The Uragan-1 is a Russian multi-caliber rocket launcher with the ability to swap launch containers. It operates with calibers of 200 and 300 mm.

After spying scandal erupts, Orban accuses Ukraine of meddling, cooperating with Hungarian opposition

“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.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Former nuclear power plant employee arrested for allegedly helping Russia’s GRU target drone strikes

A former employee of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been arrested on suspicion of working with Russian military intelligence (GRU) to help target drone strikes on the facility’s power lines, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 13.

According to the SBU, the man was to assist strikes on high-voltage power lines that connect the Rivne NPP in Rivne Oblast with the Kyiv Oblast power facilities, supplying electricity to the capital and the surrounding area.

The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.

The suspect tried to install a GPS tracker on one of the main power line’s poles. To approach the facility unnoticed, he allegedly scouted the locations of Ukrainian troops guarding the NPP.

The man was detained when trying to activate a tracking module, the SBU said.

Romania heads to historic presidential runoff as populist and pro-EU candidate are neck-and-neck

Days before the Romanian presidential election runoff, the two presidential hopefuls are neck-and-neck. According to the latest poll by AtlasIntel, far-right George Simion and liberal pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan are tied at 48.2%. Yet, another poll by CURS gives Simion 52% and Dan 48%. Both are running on an anti-establishment platform in a country seeking change. Yet, with two drastically different views on the country’s future, whoever takes the presidency will have the chance to chan

The Kyiv IndependentPaula Erizanu