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."
The logo of the Russian state-controlled media outlet Izvestiya on the outside of the newspaper's editorial building in Moscow, on June 3, 2005. (Yuri Tutov/AFP via Getty Images)
EU ambassadors have agreed on an EU-wide ban on four key Russian propaganda outlets, said Rikard Jozwiak, the Europe Editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), on May 15.
The move would reportedly impact Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, and Izvestiya, Jozwiak said.
Czechia's government announced in March that it uncovered a Moscow-financed propaganda network linked to Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, which used Voice of Europe to spread disinformation.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta and RIA Novosti are both Russian state-owned outlets, and Izvestiya is state-controlled.
The EU previously banned other Russian propaganda outlets, such as RT and Sputnik.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova threatened that there would be countermeasures impacting Western media operating in Russia.
"If these measures are taken against the Russian media, Russian journalists, then, despite the fact that Western correspondents will not want to, they will also have to feel our retaliatory measures," Zakharova said.
"If just one Russian media outlet is subjected to unjustified restrictions, then it will ricochet off their colleagues here in Russia, I mean, Western journalists."
Russia has taken extensive measures to crack down on independent media.
The Kremlin passed a bill earlier in May to expand the purview of its media bans to include foreign state-funded organizations, such as media outlets like the BBC or Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
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.
Martin Fornusek
