Ukraine's underground storage facilities are currently using 19.4% of their capacity. Almost 32%, or 2.79 bcm, less gas is available in the storages than in the previous year, according to the estimates.
The majority of Ukrainians, 71%, do not support holding elections before a full peace deal, even in the case of a ceasefire and security guarantees, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 14.
"He'd like me to be there, and that's a possibility. ... I don't know that he would be there if I'm not there. We're going to find out," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Qatar, Reuters reported.
Trump has long demanded that NATO allies increase their military spending, previously calling for the alliance to raise its benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP.
More than 1,000 Russian government entities and 1,200 private companies are involved in the economy of occupied Mariupol, a major southeastern city occupied by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to a research paper published on May 14.
The measures target almost 200 ships of Russia's "shadow fleet," 30 companies involved in sanctions evasion, 75 sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, and more.
The government has approved "reform roadmaps in the rule of law, public administration, and democratic institutions, as well as Ukraine’s negotiation position," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
The statement did not name the ex-official by name, but details of the case indicate it relates to Oleh Hladkovsky, a former deputy secretary of Ukraine's top security body who has been wanted since mid-April.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
"Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv. "And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process."
MIG-31K military aircraft perform during Victory Day over the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2020. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Satellite imagery from May 16 of the aftermath of suspected Ukrainian missile strikes on Russia's Belbek military airfield in occupied Crimea suggests three aircraft were recently destroyed.
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel claimed the airfield was attacked late on May 15 and that a fuel depot caught fire, while Russia's Defense Ministry claimed five U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles were intercepted overnight by "air defense systems on duty."
Attacks against the Belbek airfield were also reported the preceding night, which allegedly resulted in fires near the military facility.
Satellite images obtained by RFE/RL and The New York Times suggested two MiG-31s and one Su-27 were damaged if not totally destroyed.
On @Maxar imagery, two MiG-31s and one Su-27 have been completely destroyed, and a MiG-29 damaged, at the Russian Air Force's Belbek Airbase in occupied Crimea. A fuel storage near the main airbase runway was also destroyed, and debris continued to burn in the aftermath. https://t.co/ZWflMYUFVwpic.twitter.com/80N56MRP2h
The Ukrainian military has not commented on the attacks, but in its daily update, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported two Russian planes and one helicopter had been destroyed over the preceding 24 hours but gave no further details.
On May 16, the partisan group Atesh said the main missile and artillery depot of the Russian Belbek military airfield near occupied Sevastopol was damaged.
The partisans claimed the damaged depot stored "most of the missiles" for Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets as well as MiG-31 aircraft, a carrier of Kinzhal ballistic missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine.
The partisans did not explicitly say whether the stored ammunition included Kinzhals.
"There was also significant damage to the airfield's infrastructure as a result of secondary detonation," Atesh claimed.
Atesh did not mention damaged or destroyed aircraft.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims.
Elsewhere, Ukraine allegedly launched a massive attack overnight on Russian targets on May 17, including the Novorossiysk port and oil facilities, with the Kremlin claiming to have destroyed more than 100 air and naval drones.
In a post on Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed 102 aerial and six naval drones had been intercepted and destroyed and did not report any damage or casualties.
"Air defense systems destroyed and intercepted 51 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles – edit.) over the territory of the Crimean peninsula, 44 UAVs over the territory of Krasnodar Krai, six UAVs over the territory of Belgorod Oblast, and one UAV over the territory of Kursk Oblast," it wrote.
"During the night, naval aviation and patrol boats of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed six unmanned boats in the Black Sea."
The claims could not be independently verified. Russian authorities regularly claim to have downed Ukrainian missiles and drones without reporting damage, though later reports at times emerge showing military targets or infrastructure that appear to have been struck.
If confirmed, it would be the largest drone attack by Ukraine throughout the entire full-scale war.
A previous attack in March saw the Kremlin claiming to have downed 65 drones.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
