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.
"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."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken en route to Kyiv, Ukraine on May 14, 2024. (U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken/X)
Editor's note: The article was updated with a quote from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on social media.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on May 14, marking the first time a senior U.S. official has visited Ukraine since Congress approved a long-awaited $61 billion military aid package for the country last month.
Blinken, who arrived in Ukraine by train early in the morning, hopes to "send a strong signal of reassurance to the Ukrainians who are obviously in a very difficult moment," according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Reuters reports.
"The Secretary's mission here is really to talk about how our supplemental assistance is going to be executed in a fashion to help shore up their defenses (and) enable them to increasingly take back the initiative on the battlefield," the official said.
The official mentioned that the artillery, along with long-range missiles referred to as ATACMS, and air defense interceptors, which were authorized by President Joe Biden on April 24, were already being delivered to the Ukrainian forces.
"I returned to Kyiv today to demonstrate our unwavering support for Ukraine as they defend their freedom against Russian aggression," Blinken wrote on social media.
On May 10, Biden authorized a $400 million defense aid package for Ukraine, according to a statement on the White House's website. Thenew packageincluded ammunition for Patriot and NASAMS air defenses, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, HIMARS systems and ammunition, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, and equipment to integrate Western launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukrainian systems.
While in Kyiv, Blinken will reassure Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelensky of enduring U.S. support and deliver a speech focused on Ukraine's future, the official said.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Francis Farrell
