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.
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.
A view of Tiraspol, the de-facto capital of Transnistria, a Russian-controlled territory of Moldova, on April 28, 2022. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Moldova would be able to join the EU even if the breakaway region of Transnistria is not returned to the country proper, said the EU's ambassador to Moldova, Janis Mazeiks, on the NordNews channel on Dec. 11
"We wouldn't see it (as) fair if (Moldova) is taken hostage by the solution to this quite complex problem," Mazeiks said.
The EU would prefer to see Moldova join with its full territorial integrity, he added, and he hopes that Transnistria will be reintegrated by the time Moldova is ready to begin the process of accession to the EU.
Transnistria is a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Moldova, kept afloat with the help of the illegal presence of Russian troops. There have been concerns that the unresolved territorial dispute over Transnistria could hinder Moldova's efforts to join the EU.
Similar fears have been expressed about Ukraine, as Russia occupies significant swathes of Ukrainian territory.
There is a historical precedent for a country joining international alliances or blocs like the EU without having full control over its territory.
West Germany was one of the founding members of the European Communities, a precursor to the EU, and joined NATO in 1955, decades before the country's unification with Soviet-dominated East Germany.
The European Commission recommended that Ukraine and Moldova begin talks on their accession to the EU on Nov. 8. The commission is expected to vote on the two countries officially beginning the talks during a Dec. 14-15 summit.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Vitalii Poberezhnyi
