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.
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.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (R) meets Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair in Ottawa, Canada, on May 10, 2024. (Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Canada will contribute 76 million Canadian dollars ($56 million) to the German-led initiative for boosting Ukraine's air defenses, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said on May 10.
"Through Canada's investment in Germany's Immediate Action on Air Defense Initiative, we are working together to provide Ukraine with the crucial air defense systems that it needs to protect its people," Blair said while hosting his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, in Ottawa.
Berlin launched the initiative in April amid Kyiv's increasingly dire need for air defenses, facing heavy Russian aerial attacks against population centers and the energy grid.
During Pistorius's visit to Canada's capital, he and Blair discussed the cooperation between their countries within the NATO framework and the preparation for the upcoming alliance summit in Washington, DC.
The Canadian Defense Ministry said that contributions to Germany's initiative are only one of the ways the two countries aid Ukraine.
"Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are currently deployed to Germany as part of the Security Assistance Group – Ukraine, which is helping to facilitate the transfer of aid to Ukraine, working to align future donations with Ukraine's needs, and planning for the immediate and longer-term training needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the ministry's statement read.
Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $10 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $3 billion in defense assistance.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Dmytro Basmat
