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 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.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba meets with UK representatives in London on Dec. 8, 2021. (Dmytro Kuleba/Twitter)
The United Kingdom will provide an additional $1.3 billion (£1 billion) of export loan financing to projects in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced over Twitter on Dec. 8.
The money, which will be disbursed through the UK Export Finance agency (UKEF), will be assigned in addition to the $3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) that Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed on in October 2020, bringing the total available funds to $4.6 billion (£3.5 billion).
UKEF provides affordable loans worldwide to companies wishing to use UK goods or services. To qualify for financing, a project must spend at least 20% of the total loan capital on imported British products. The agency was expanded after the UK's departure from the European Union in January 2020 in order to encourage trade outside the bloc.
UKEF also has the ability to guarantee the investments of British exporters looking to do business in Ukraine.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba met with UK representatives on Dec. 8 and discussed topics including trade, energy security, defense, and education.
“Concluded our preparatory meeting of the UK-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue in London. Grateful for decisions proving that Kyiv and London are close allies. Additionally allocated resources will enable projects in infrastructure, healthcare and clean energy,” Kuleba tweeted about the extra funding.
The UK also supported Ukraine amid the growing threat of Russia's large-scale military action. According to Ukrainian and Western intelligence, Russia has amassed 94,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and in the occupied territories.
The joint statement signed by Kuleba and Elizabeth Truss, UK Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs, condemned Russia's actions and promised to continue the UK's support of Ukraine in protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Truss did not answer whether the UK will deploy troops to support Ukraine but insisted that the UK will stand with Ukraine.
"We are also discussing with our NATO allies other measures such as economic measures and diplomatic measures that can be taken, but we are very clear that we are standing with Ukraine in the face of this aggression."
Sergiy Slipchenko is a staff writer at the Kyiv Independent. He studied at York University in Toronto, Canada and worked as a reporter at the Kyiv Post.
