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.
The U.S. national flag, left, flies from a pole beside a European Union (EU) flag outside the European Commission building on Feb. 20, 2017. Illustrative purposes. (Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
European leaders are appealing to outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden in a last-minute effort to secure support for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 14, citing people familiar with the plans.
Trump, who has opposed ongoing U.S. aid to Ukraine and pushed for a speedy deal with Moscow to end the war, will take office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Some EU officials are urging the U.S. to provide more weapons and artillery to Ukraine, as well as permissions to carry out long-range strikes on Russia, sources told Bloomberg.
There have also been requests for additional sanctions against Moscow. Many of the requests have been informal, sources said.
The Biden administration has assured Ukraine that it will receive the full $6 billion in remaining congressionally-allotted aid before Trump returns to the White House in January.
In an emergency visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels after the U.S. election, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration is also looking for additional assistance for Ukraine ahead of the presidential transition.
Biden will "continue to shore up everything we're doing for Ukraine" to ensure it can either fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a position of strength, Blinken said.
Despite these assurances, the U.S. has not changed its position on Ukraine's use of long-range American weapons against military targets deep within Russia. Such permission was a key part of the five-point victory plan President Volodymyr Zelensky presented to Western leaders.
"When we engage with our American friends and partners, I really hope we'll continue our support to Ukrainians, including on deep strikes, to use legitimate defense when targets are used to strike Ukraine's defense and infrastructure," France's European Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad told Bloomberg in an interview.
With Washington's continued military support for Kyiv now uncertain, Europe has become Ukraine's main defense partner in the war against Russia.
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.
Jakub Janda
