The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.
Trump envoys Witkoff and Kellogg to go to Turkey for Russia-Ukraine talks, sources say
US President Donald Trump’s senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul for potential talks on Thursday on how to end the war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the plans say.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
The envoys will attempt to revive Trump’s stalled push to broker peace in the conflict, which he has repeatedly promised to end.
US officials are hoping Russia will agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, a senior US official says, adding that Kyiv has already agreed to abide by such a deal.
Ben & Jerry’s cofounder confronts RFK Jr in Gaza protest at Capitol
Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and longtime progressive activist, was removed from a Senate hearing Wednesday after confronting US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and lawmakers over Washington’s support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Kennedy had been reading prepared remarks about his department’s 2026 budget when activists interrupted the session, chanting “RFK kills people with AIDS.”
Kennedy jumped from his seat in reaction to the outburst.
Cohen then shouted: “Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza,” accusing lawmakers of funding arms by cutting Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income families that Republicans are seeking to slash.
Video posted by anti-war group Codepink showed the 74-year-old in handcuffs as Capitol Police escorted him from the chamber.
“They need to let food into Gaza, they need to let food to starving kids!” Cohen yelled as he was taken away.
A vocal critic of Israeli policy, Cohen last year co-signed an open letter titled A Statement From Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC, denouncing the pro-Israel lobby’s influence in US politics.
Ben from Ben & Jerry’s confronts RFK Jr. and Congress:
“YOU’RE KILLING POOR KIDS IN GAZA
AND PAYING FOR IT BY CUTTING MEDICAID
FOR KIDS HERE.”
While Congress writes checks for bombs, children are starving. pic.twitter.com/nBxzwGnVf7— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) May 14, 2025
Iranian official says Tehran will agree to deal that caps uranium enrichment
Iran is willing to agree to a deal with the US in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, an Iranian official tells NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says Tehran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, NBC reported.
US officials have offered varying statements regarding whether they’ll accept a deal that allows Iran to maintain a limited enrichment program, though, more recently have asserted that they won’t.
Putin to skip Ukraine talks, Russian team includes seasoned negotiators
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the composition of a delegation of experienced negotiators to conduct direct talks with Ukraine to resolve the ongoing war, though, the talks will not include the Kremlin leader himself.
Speculation on whether Putin would attend the direct talks has hung over the meeting since he had proposed it himself last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said he would attend the talks if Putin were present.
An order issued by Putin on the Kremlin website said the delegation included two officials who took part in the last set of talks held between the two sides in the first weeks following Russia’s 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor.
Those included presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.
Also named as part of the delegation was Igor Kostyukov, director of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the GRU, Russia’s Foreign Military Intelligence Agency. Kostyukov was identified in the Kremlin announcement as Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin was also named as part of the delegation.
Negotiators held several rounds of talks in 2022 first in Belarus and then in Turkey, but the negotiations eventually broke down.