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.
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.
The Swedish Air Force's JAS-39C Gripen during the International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford on July 21, 2019, in Fairford, U.K. (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Sweden was asked by partners to wait with possible plans on sending Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, as the focus is now on providing Kyiv with F-16 aircraft, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told the TT news agency on May 28.
The minister told the Kyiv Independent in March that discussions on a possible supply of its Gripen jets to Ukraine are underway after Sweden's entry into NATO, but made no definite pledge.
"We have been urged by the other countries in the coalition to wait with the Gripen system," Jonson told TT in Brussels, adding: "This has to do with the fact that the focus is now on introducing the F-16 system."
Jonson added that the pause does not mean the transfer of Gripens will not become relevant again in the future but explained that the coalition does not wish to introduce two different fighter jet systems simultaneously.
Several NATO countries – Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway – have pledged to deliver dozens of U.S.-made F-16 fighters from their stocks. Most recently, the Belgian government said it would deliver 30 of the planes by 2028, with the first ones bound to arrive by the end of this year.
Danish F-16s are expected to arrive as early as this summer, whereas Dutch fighter jets should begin arriving in the autumn.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
