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Illustrative photo of President Volodymyr Zelensky signing a document in his office in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)
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President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed new Ukrainian ambassadors to seven countries on April 7, according to decrees published on the president's website.

The appointments include Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's former Prosecutor General, who resigned in October 2024 amid a major corruption scandal involving hundreds of prosecutors who obtained disability benefits.

Despite promises to bring Kostin to "political responsibility," Zelensky appointed him ambassador to the Netherlands.

Previously, a source familiar with decision-making in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Kostin wanted an ambassadorial post in the Netherlands.

Kostin has also been appointed Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The various ambassadors have been appointed to represent Ukraine in Argentina, China, Finland, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and Norway.

Andriy Melnyk was formally appointed as the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (UN). He was dismissed from his role as ambassador to Brazil.

Kostin has been criticized for failing to reform the prosecutor's office and not obtaining any notable achievements as Prosecutor General. He has been praised for not blocking or sabotaging any high-profile cases.

As peace talks stumble, can Ukraine hold the line against Russia’s spring offensive?
In a way unseen since the start of the full-scale invasion, the daily grind of the front line in Russia’s war against Ukraine has taken the back seat in world headlines. The dizzying U.S. President Donald Trump-led attempts to negotiate peace in the world arena dominate the news cycle

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News Feed

6:20 PM  (Updated: )

Trump to talk to Putin on May 19 in push to end 'bloodbath.'

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war — a war that should have never happened — will end. God bless us all!!!" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
5:48 AM

Russia kills 1, injures 8 people in Donetsk Oblast.

The Russian military attacked Donetsk Oblast on May 17, killing one person and injuring an additional eight. The attack occurred in the morning and impacted the Yablunivka settlement, as well as Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Andriivka.
2:56 AM

Ukraine takes 9th place in Eurovision 2025.

Ukrainian band Ziferblat took ninth place at the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final on May 17 in Basel, Switzerland. Their song "Bird of Pray" received 218 points – 60 from the jury and 158 from the audience.
10:13 AM  (Updated: )

Russian drone strike on civilian bus in Sumy kills 9, injures 7.

Russia launched a drone strike on Sumy Oblast in the early morning of May 17, killing nine people and injuring four more. The drone targeted a shuttle bus that was transporting civilians near the city of Bilopillia at 6:17 a.m. local time.
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