The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
European foreign ministers approved the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine during a meeting in Lviv on May 9. The tribunal, which will operate under the auspices of the Council of Europe, aims to prosecute Russia's top political and military leadership, including President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine expects the tribunal to start work in 2026. The Kyiv Independent’s Kateryna Hodunova spoke with Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel about the future tribunal and its role in bringing justice for Ukraine.
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 Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, in Varash, Rivne Oblast, on September 10, 2023. (Photo by Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)
Preparations for Ukraine's energy facilities to meet the challenges of the upcoming winter are in the final stage, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a government meeting on Sept. 12.
Russian forces attempted to cripple Ukraine's energy network with massive strikes during the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023, leading to frequent blackouts and a lack of heating across the country.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is likely to attempt this strategy again next winter.
Shymal said that 84% of heating networks, 78% of central heating stations, more than 80% of residential buildings, and 86% of schools, kindergartens, and hospitals are ready for winter, adding that "it should be 100% in a month."
The government aims to have 25 thermal power plant units and nine nuclear power plant units ready to produce power by the start of the season.
Thermal power will provide Ukraine's energy system with 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, while nuclear power will provide 7.8 GW, according to the prime minister.
Thirty-five hydroelectric power units, which are either ready to produce energy or under repair, will provide 2.3 GW of energy, he said.
The prime minister said that Ukraine is focused on "energy independence," citing the fact that the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is now using fuel from the U.S. company Westinghouse to end the "Russian monopoly" on supplying such fuel, he said.
What in other countries would take months or years, "we install and repair in weeks," Shmyhal said.
Dominic Culverwell
