From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / May 14, 2025
As Zelensky Commits to Meeting Putin Face-to-Face, the Kremlin Hesitates While Russian Forces Advance on Multiple Fronts and Western Leaders Prepare Punishing Sanctions Package
Summary of the Day – May 13, 2025
With less than 48 hours until the proposed peace talks in Istanbul, the diplomatic chess match intensified as President Volodymyr Zelensky threw down the gauntlet, confirming his willingness to meet Vladimir Putin in person while the Kremlin remained strategically ambiguous about Putin’s attendance. Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak declared Putin’s absence would be “the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war,” even as Russian forces continued offensive operations across the battlefront, advancing near Lyman, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka. Meanwhile, European leaders threatened “significant tightening of sanctions” if Moscow fails to negotiate in good faith, with French President Emmanuel Macron even suggesting the possibility of placing French nuclear weapons on the territory of Eastern European allies to deter Russian aggression.
The Istanbul Challenge: Zelensky Waits for Putin’s Move
In a calculated diplomatic maneuver, President Zelensky announced he would travel to Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but made clear both leaders stand ready to fly immediately to Istanbul if Putin confirms his participation in the peace talks. “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, effectively eliminating any potential Russian excuses about location.
Voice of Ukraine 