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.
"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.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 42nd Mechanised Brigade dig trenches during a field military exercise in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 6, 2023. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
The government has allocated around Hr 17.5 billion ($466 million) for the construction of fortifications, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 19, calling it a "record amount."
Before the winter, authorities received some criticism for slow progress on fortifying defensive lines. A working group was established in November to coordinate fortification efforts.
This newly announced sum will also be used to purchase necessary equipment and non-explosive barriers, the prime minister said during a governmental meeting.
"We are allocating the funds to specialized departments and regional state administrations," Shmyhal noted.
Speaking at a press conference in December, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kharkiv Oblast boasts the strongest fortifications. The president added that he had appealed to authorities in other regions to reach the same standards.
Responding to a question by the Kyiv Independent journalist about why Ukraine passed a decision on fortifications only in November, Zelensky said the efforts have been ongoing since the start of the full-scale war, and the recent measure serves to reinforce the defenses further.
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.
Francis Farrell
