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.
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."
A police car drives past a destroyed building in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, amid a renewed Russian assault in the area, on May 11, 2024. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent).
Two volunteers who came to the embattled city of Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, have been missing for four days and may have been shot by Russian troops, local authorities said on May 14.
Russia launched new offensive actions on May 10 in the directions of Lyptsi and Vovchansk in the north of Kharkiv Oblast.
Tamaz Gambarashvili, the head of Vovchansk City Military Administration, told Suspilne that the two reportedly traveled to Vovchansk without coordinating with local authorities and disappeared amidst the chaos of the renewed assault.
Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police, said the two volunteers never reached their intended destination and that preliminary information indicates that the two could have been shot by the Russian military.
According to eyewitness info, one of them may been killed, Bolvinov said.
The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office also reported other possible killings of civilians by Russian forces in the area on May 14. According to an initial investigation, a Russian officer shot a 46-year-old resident, and another civilian was reported missing in the Vovchansk community. Further details about the two civilians are unknown at the time of this publication.
Vovchansk, which had a population of almost 17,000 before the full-scale invasion, came under Russian occupation in February 2022. The town was liberated in September 2022 during Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on May 13 that fighting was ongoing for Vovchansk.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on May 13 that up to 300 people may still be in the town.
Syniehubov said earlier in the day that two elderly civilians were killed, and that fighting was ongoing in the northern part of the city.
Francis Farrell
