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.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a presidential campaign event at Crotona Park in New York City, U.S., on May 23, 2024 (JB Lacroix/GC Images)
Editor's note: The previous headline of this news article said that Donald Trump threatened to cut off aid to Ukraine prior to taking the White House as president-elect. Since Trump didn't explicitly threaten to cut off aid but vaguely said he would "have it settled," the headline was updated for accuracy.
Former U.S. President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of American aid to Ukraine at a campaign rally in Detroit on June 15.
Speaking at the Turning Point USA event, Trump claimed he would "have that (U.S. aid to Ukraine) settled prior to taking the White House as president-elect."
Trump described President Volodymyr Zelensky as "the best salesman" for securing substantial financial support from the U.S.
"I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that's ever lived. Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion," Trump remarked.
"Now, here's the beauty. He just left four days ago with $60 billion, and he gets home and he announces he needs another $60 billion. It never ends," Trump claimed. "I will have that settled prior to take the White House as president-elect."
Trump's statement contained inaccuracies about U.S. aid to Ukraine, as a foreign aid bill containing close to $61 billion for Ukraine was signed by U.S. President Joe Biden back in late April
Trump previously stated that he would withhold defense assistance to Ukraine if he won the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Trump has also claimed Russia would not have launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had he won a second term in office.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Owen Racer
