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."
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024 (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he will ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to go to Turkey for peace talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, CNN reported on May 14.
Russia invited Ukraine to direct talks in Istanbul after rejecting calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire backed by Europe, Ukraine, and the United States. Zelensky accepted the invitation and said he was ready to personally meet Putin in Turkey on May 15.
The Kremlin has not confirmed Putin's participation but said Russia would dispatch a delegation.
During his visit to China, Lula said he would try to ask Putin to travel to Turkey for talks with Kyiv during his trip to Moscow. He added 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.
The Brazilian president said he had conveyed the request directly to Putin during a bilateral dinner in Moscow.
"It was the first thing I said to Putin: 'I have a message from Zelensky to see if you would accept a 30-day truce'," he said. According to Lula, the Russian president responded positively to the possibility of discussing the issue.
Publicly, Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls for the 30-day truce, first agreed upon by the U.S. and Ukraine on March 11.
Lula also said Putin called for the resumption of negotiations based on the terms discussed in Istanbul in 2022.
According to the leaked 2022 peace draft proposal, both sides agreed to exclude Crimea from the treaty, leaving it under Russian occupation without Ukraine recognizing Russian sovereignty over it. The status of other Russian-occupied territories was to be decided in later talks between presidents Zelensky and Putin.
The treaty would reportedly see Ukraine abandon aspirations to join NATO or any other military alliance, but allowed for EU entry. Russia also demanded the lifting of all sanctions, repealing Kyiv's laws related to language and national identity, and limiting Ukraine's Armed Forces.
The negotiations were unsuccessful and did not lead to the signing of any agreements. After that, there were no direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The meeting between Zelensky and Putin, if it occurs, could signal a breakthrough in stalled diplomatic efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion.
The last and only face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin occurred in December 2019 in Paris under the Normandy Format. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, there have been no direct meetings between the two.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Uria Fancelli
