The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
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.
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.
Damaged buildings are being demolished in Russian-occupied Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 16, 2023. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
German companies Knauf and WKB Systems GmbH are involved in the so-called restoration efforts of occupied Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, which was destroyed by Russian troops, according to an investigation published on April 3 by journalists of the Monitor program of the German TV channel ARD.
The city came under siege by Russian forces between February and May 2022, leaving thousands dead and reducing Mariupol to rubble. According to authorities' rough estimates, at least 25,000 people could have been killed during the siege of Mariupol. The exact number of dead remains unknown and could be much higher.
The reconstruction of Mariupol is part of Russian propaganda efforts to hide evidence of the destruction caused by Russia's forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian attacks destroyed over 95% of the buildings in the city.
ARD journalists looked into the websites of construction companies, documents, photos, and videos to find evidence of German companies' involvement in the reconstruction of the destroyed Mariupol.
They revealed that Russia uses Knauf company's cement in construction works, among other things. Knauf currently employs 4,000 people in Russia and generates billions in sales in the Russian market, according to the investigation.
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The company responded to a journalists' request, saying that it condemns Russia's war against Ukraine and "complies with all EU sanctions against Russia." Knauf manufactures products in Russia "exclusively for the Russian market," the company said.
ARD journalists also spotted concrete blocks in green packaging film in the footage with the name of the German company WKB Systems from the Munsterland region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Among other things, this company equips concrete block production plants.
The company's main shareholder is Russian businessman Viktor Budarin, who is not under EU sanctions, according to the report.
"Customs data available to the Monitor show that WKB Systems GmbH has been supplying complete plants for aerated concrete block factories for years to one of Budarin's Russian companies. Apparently the same company whose products Russia is using to strengthen its hold on Mariupol," the investigation said.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
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