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.
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.
Editor's note: This item was updated after the Prosecutor General's Office announced the second arrest.
The Kyiv Pechersk District court ruled to arrest two defendants implicated in a defense procurement corruption scandal involving Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevych, said Nadiia Maksymets, the spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's Office, in a comment for Ukrinform on Jan. 18.
The suspects were detained with an alternative of Hr 500 million ($13 million) bail.
By sending the defendants to custody, the court conceded to the request of the Prosecutor's Office. One of the men in question is Andrii Kolotilo, Ukrainian Pravda reported, citing a law enforcement source. The court arrested him until March 16.
Earlier the same day, the prosecution asked the court to order an arrest with the possibility of bail for three people involved in the case, namely two heads of companies and an intermediary, Maksymets told Ukrinform. The other two suspects implicated in the case are Ihor Hrynkevych and his son, Roman.
The State Bureau of Investigation announced on Jan. 18 that Roman Hrynkevych was declared wanted and is currently in hiding.
Ihor Hrynkevych used to be one of the leading suppliers for the Defense Ministry, winning 23 tenders with his companies. According to authorities, he failed to complete the contracts and caused the ministry financial damage of Hr 1.2 billion ($31.6 million).
The goods Hrynkevych's companies supplied were allegedly of low quality and inappropriate for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
Ihor Hrynkevych was arrested on Dec. 30, 2023, while allegedly attempting to bribe a top official in the bureau in exchange for the return of his property confiscated during criminal proceedings.
The Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 17 that it had terminated the last contract with the businessman's companies.
Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Defense Ministry has been involved in several corruption scandals.
The most notorious were related to the former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, one regarding inflated prices for food supplies and the other connected to low-quality winter jackets.
Martin Fornusek
