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."
EU flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 28, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
European Union countries have approved an unprecedented plan to issue a 35-billion-euro ($37.2 billion) loan to support Ukraine's war-torn economy, using Russia's immobilized Central Bank assets as collateral.
The deal is part of a broader G7 initiative to provide €45 billion ($50 billion) in aid to Kyiv, struggling to counter a renewed Russian offensive that has severely damaged its power infrastructure.
Under the G7 plan, profits from Russia's frozen assets will gradually be used to repay the multi-billion-euro loan. EU officials said that the 35 billion loan will be "undesignated" and "untargeted," allowing Ukraine maximum flexibility in how it spends the funds. The EU expects to start distributing the money early next year.
The agreement, reached on Oct. 9 by EU ambassadors, follows Hungary's announcement that it would block a key sanctions reform until after the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.
The proposed amendment will extend the renewal period for sanctions on Russia’s frozen assets—valued at around €210 billion across the EU—from six months to 36 months. Unlike the loan, which passed by a qualified majority, changes to sanctions laws require unanimous approval.
"We believe that this issue should be decided – the prolongation of the Russian sanctions – after the US elections. That was the Hungarian position," Hungary's finance minister Mihaly Varga said on Oct. 8 following a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg, according to Euronews.
The longer renewal period aims to make the project more predictable and address concerns raised by G7 allies, particularly the U.S., which fears that a single EU member could block sanctions, unfreeze assets, and disrupt the entire plan. These fears are mainly directed at Hungary, known for blocking sanctions in exchange for controversial concessions.
According to the G7 plan, profits generated by the frozen assets will be used to gradually repay the money loaned to Ukraine. If these profits are no longer accessible, the West will be responsible for covering the costs.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
