"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."
The EU plans to significantly increase tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the current duty-free deal lapses on June 6, the Financial Times reported on May 14, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Ukrainian military vehicles are seen out of the window of an armored vehicle in the Ukrainian-occupied Russian town of Sudzha on August 18th, 2024, in Kursk Oblast, Russia. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Ed Ram/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Russian commanders anticipated that Ukraine was planning an incursion into Kursk Oblast months before it occurred, the Guardian reported on Sept. 20, citing a collection of documents that Ukrainian soldiers said they had seized from abandoned Russian positions.
The documents included printed orders and handwritten entries from commanders.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast in early August, claiming to have seized around 100 settlements and over 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles).
Russia appeared to have been taken by surprise by the attack, which allowed Ukrainian forces to quickly fan out across the border and move deep into Russian territory.
According to the seized documents, the authenticity of which the Guardian said they "could not independently verify," Russian commanders had been cautioning that a potential cross-border breakthrough could occur as far back as January 2024.
While the earlier warnings were largely vague, they grew increasingly more detailed — including specific threats that Ukraine would try to seize the town of Sudzha — a warning that was realized after Ukraine captured it in August.
The seized documents also revealed that Russian commanders had attempted to beef up security by the border in Kursk Oblast and "organize additional exercises for the leadership of units and strongpoints regarding the proper organization of defenses" ahead of a possible Ukrainian attack.
Other revelations from the documents were statements from commanders about the deteriorating morale of Russian soldiers in the area.
"The analysis of the current situation regarding suicides shows that the issue of servicemen dying as a result of suicidal incidents remains tense," one entry read.
Another entry detailed the specifics of one soldier's suicide.
"The investigation into the incident determined that the cause of the suicide and death was a nervous and psychological breakdown, caused by his prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army," the entry read.
Commanders also wrote instructions on how to improve morale, including one suggestion that soldiers should receive daily political lessons "aimed at maintaining and raising the political, moral, and psychological condition of the personnel."
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.
The Kyiv Independent
