The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
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.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Turkish officials told Bloomberg that while they don't expect Trump to visit Istanbul, they are not ruling it out, and preparations for any scenario are underway.
Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023 in connection with the activities of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which was co-founded by Golos's legal predecessor, the Golos association.
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.
Illustrative image: A sign reading Bryansk Oblast sits on the side of a road entering the region, which borders Ukraine, on March 2, 2023. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP)
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A chemical plant in Russia's Bryansk Oblast was allegedly damaged in an aerial attack on the night of Jan. 13, Russian media reported.
Regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz reported that Russian air defense units were repelling a drone attack over Bryansk Oblast. Later in the evening, the Astra Telegram news channel reported that the Bryansk chemical plant had been hit — possibly by a long-range ATACMS missile — and posted footage showing explosions at the site.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
The Bryansk chemical plant produces gunpowder and explosives, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center.
"It is important for the production of artillery ammunition and missiles for the Russian army," Kovalenko said in a Telegram post after the alleged attack.
"This enterprise is one of the key elements of the Russian military industry."
The plant was reportedly damaged in a previous attack in November.
Kovalenko also said on Jan. 13 that explosions had occurred at the "Kremniy El" microelectronics plant in Bryansk, though Russian sources have not reported an attack on that site and the Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Sonya Bandouil
