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)
Stockholm is open to providing Ukraine with Gripen fighter jets after the "F-16 program is completed," but further steps depend on Kyiv, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Voice of America in an interview published on July 10.
Previously, Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson said that other partners asked Stockholm to wait with possible plans on sending Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, as the focus is now on providing Kyiv with F-16 aircraft.
According to Billstron, the Swedish government did not refuse to send Gripens along with F-16 fighter jets from other allies, but Ukraine concluded that adopting two aircraft systems simultaneously would be difficult to manage.
"We are talking about systems. It's not just about getting aircraft and training pilots. These are complex systems, and it would be too difficult to implement two of them at the same time," Billstron said in the interview.
"But that doesn't mean that Sweden is not open to continuing with the Gripens if and when the F-16 program is completed."
Kyiv is expected to receive at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway. The supposed deadline for completing the "F-16 program" is unclear, as Belgium plans to continue delivering its planes until 2028, for example.
The first batch of planes are on their way from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine and will arrive this summer, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 10. The deliveries are expected to continue in the following years.
In late May, Sweden announced the largest military aid package worth $1.3 billion for Kyiv, which includes two ASC 890 radar reconnaissance and control aircraft.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Kateryna Denisova
