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 EU plans to significantly increase tariffs on Ukrainian goods after the current duty-free deal lapses on June 6, the Financial Times reported on May 14, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
Yulia Tymoshenko speaks to a serviceman with the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv on Sept. 17, 2022 (Yulia Tymoshenko/ Facebook)
Former prime minister and leader of the Batkivshchyna party (26 seats in parliament) Yulia Tymoshenko along with fellow lawmaker Hryhoriy Nemyria are suing the foreign ministry to return their diplomatic passports, the Kyiv Independent learned from court records.
Both were stripped of their diplomatic passports over the summer for not returning them to the foreign ministry within 10 days of returning from a work trip, as required.
The lawmakers are now asking the court to force the ministry to return their diplomatic passports to them, as well as to cancel the norm that obliges them to hand the passports over to the ministry when not traveling.
Tymoshenko and Nemyria have not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
In early August, the foreign ministry stripped 225 lawmakers of their diplomatic passports for failing to hand them in. Among them were the first deputy speaker of Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party faction David Arakhamia, and head of the Servant of the People’s party Olena Shulyak.
“During the past month, the foreign ministry asked lawmakers several times to return the passports and worked with the Verkhovna Rada to organize this process. The last time we asked (lawmakers) to return the passports was in July. All of our appeals were ignored,” the ministry said in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda in August.
The media outlet said, citing their anonymous sources, that Zelensky was angry at lawmakers for traveling abroad during the war for no reason.
The President’s Office declined to comment on Zelensky’s stance on diplomatic passports when asked by the Kyiv Independent.
The foreign ministry has not replied to a request for comment.
Back in May, a number of lawmakers, including those from Tymoshenko's party, initiated a bill to cancel the norm that requires they hand in their diplomatic passports to the foreign ministry in between work trips. The bill hasn't been considered by parliament yet.
