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.
North Korean soldiers march during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang on Sept. 9, 2018 (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
During his evening address on Oct. 26, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that North Korean troops may appear fighting alongside Russian forces on the front line in the coming days.
"(Russia is) increasingly engaging North Korea as an ally, and any day now their soldiers may appear on the battlefield fighting against Ukraine," Zelensky said. "Ukraine will be forced to actually fight against North Korea in Europe."
Zelensky's comments come amid reports that the Biden administration believes that a contingent of North Korean troops is en route to Russia’s Kursk region to assist Moscow in countering a Ukrainian offensive launched there in August.
Zelensky said on Oct. 25, citing intelligence reports, that Russia is planning to send the first North Korean soldiers to a combat zone on Oct. 27-28.
These soldiers are reportedly receiving training at five military training grounds in Ekaterinoslavka, Knyaze-Volkonskoe, and Sergeevka, as well as in Ussuriysk and Ulan-Ude in eastern Russia.
Although U.S. officials have not confirmed South Korean reports that North Korean soldiers will engage in direct combat, they estimate the North Korean force could number in the thousands and may rapidly be assigned to combat roles, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Estimates on the number of North Korean troops sent to the Ukraine-Russia front line have varied. U.S. officials estimated around 3,000 North Korean troops were training in Russia, but National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby indicated that the overall count could now be higher.
South Korean intelligence has informed lawmakers that North Korean troop numbers in Russia could reach 10,000 by December, while Kyiv has said that Pyongyang has sent nearly 12,000 troops to Russia, including 500 officers and three generals.
Speaking during his evening address, Zelensky called on Western allies to commit to "stronger decisions in support of Ukraine," as the threat of the war's escalation continues to rise.
"The world is capable of stopping the war from unfolding. Abstractions and words are not enough for this – concrete steps are needed."
On Oct. 24, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the country could review its ban on supplying lethal arms to Ukraine in light of "North Korean military activities."
South Korean law prohibits the exporting of weapons to active conflict zones, but Seoul has repeatedly hinted that this could change in light of deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Olena Goncharova
