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."
Flag of NATO is seen in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland on October 23, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukraine will not advance further towards NATO membership at this year’s annual summit, The Telegraph reported on May 28, due to concerns that the alliance could be drawn into a war with Russia.
Germany and the United States have been vocal in their opposition to offering Kyiv a definitive timeframe, as preparations continue for the two-day gathering in Washington, marking the organization’s 75th anniversary.
"They’re very sceptical about bringing Ukraine any further along the path to full Nato membership this year," a source familiar with the Biden administration’s thinking told The Telegraph. "The US is perhaps not as concerned as Germany, but there is a worry about the threat of Russia to the rest of the alliance," the source reportedly added.
The decision is anticipated to frustrate President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been cautioned by counterparts not to demand the "impossible" from the alliance. Russia is currently making gains along the front line, with a further offensive expected in the summer months.
Last year, Zelensky labeled NATO as "absurd" when its leaders declined to extend an invitation to Kyiv for full-fledged membership at the meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
NATO’s top officials engaged in "expectation management" following the summit, according to alliance sources, after it was determined that members supportive of Ukraine’s accession, including Britain, had exerted excessive pressure regarding the decision.
Concerns have been raised that the issue of Ukraine’s membership dominated last year’s summit and created rifts among member states.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
