If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
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.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (L) and his Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas Anusauskas, at a press conference in Vilnius on Dec. 18 after signing an agreement on the permanent deployment of German troops in Lithuania. (Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas Anusauskas, signed an agreement on Dec. 18 to permanently deploy a brigade of German soldiers in Lithuania.
The decision, described by Pistorius as "historic," represents the first permanent deployment of German troops abroad since the end of World War II.
The deployment of a brigade, consisting of close to 5,000 soldiers, will begin in 2024 and reach full strength in 2027.
The move aims to strengthen NATO's presence on its eastern flank with Russia, which is the "duty of Germany to protect," Pistorius said.
The planned deployment was first announced in June 2023.
Lithuanian lawmaker Laurynas Kasciunas said the country will allocate 0.3% of its GDP over the next several years to help fund the deployment. Pistorius added that measures would be taken to make the relocation attractive for German soldiers, including offering German language schools, housing, and other perks.
There is consensus across the political spectrum about the threat posed by Russia to Lithuania, and the subsequent need to increase defense spending, said Kasciunas.
Lithuania must be prepared for the "worst scenarios," said Anusauskas, because "Russia remains the main threat to us and NATO."
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.
Francis Farrell
