German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
Gas pipes and compressor machinery at the Dashava underground gas storage facility in Lviv Oblast. (Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Foreign traders are storing 2.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities (UGS), Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Oct. 16.
European companies are making use of the attractive storage tariffs offered by Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz.
Volumes belonging to foreign traders increased by 200 million cubic meters (mcm) in the last ten days.
“This activity demonstrates the full integration of the Ukrainian gas infrastructure into the European one. This is an important step towards creating an energy hub in Ukraine and making Europe independent of Russian gas,” Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said.
The Naftogaz Group oversees Europe’s largest underground gas storage (UGS) facilities capable of holding 31 bcm.
The company has made 10 bcm available to non-resident traders.
Foreign companies were hesitant to store gas in Ukraine last year due to Russian aggression. However, they have returned this year as Europe’s storage facilities are at full capacity.
The gas transmission system operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) transported over 3 bcm of gas from the EU and Moldova to Ukraine between April and October 2023. In the same period last year, the GTSOU only transported 414 mcm.
In total, Ukraine has around 16 bcm of gas in its storage facilities, Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyishov told the Kyiv Independent on the sidelines of the Kyiv International Economic Forum on Oct. 12.
Ukraine will be fully self-reliant this year without the need to import gas volumes, according to Naftogaz.
Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
Dominic Culverwell
