"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 President Volodymyr Zelensky greets International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at IMF Headquarters prior to a meeting in Washington, DC, on Dec. 11, 2023. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine will need at least $42 billion in international aid to support its budget this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on April 18.
Speaking in Washington, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she was "confident" this would be achieved but added that fully addressing the country’s economic problems would require ending Russia's full-scale invasion.
"A war above all is tragic, having men and women and children killed and wounded in a daily occurrence. So we need this war to end for their sake," she said.
Foreign aid is crucial for Ukraine as the economic pressure caused by the full-scale Russian invasion mounts. The besieged country received $42.5 billion in external financing last year, allowing it to function amid the ongoing war.
Georgieva said she was encouraged by the support shown during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in the U.S. capital.
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"I was very pleased to listen to statements yesterday at the roundtable on Ukraine that support for Ukraine remains steady, it is firm," she said.
In February, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko put the total needed for 2024 at $36 billion.
A second tranche of EU macro-financial assistance totaling 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) will be given to Ukraine next week, a European Commission official said on April 17.
The EU approved the four-year Ukraine Facility in February, allocating 33 billion euros ($35 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18 billion) in grants.
The first tranche of 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) was given to Ukraine on March 20.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Rachel Amran
