If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
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.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
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.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
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.
Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov. (Eugen Kotenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Russian troops continue to push along almost the entire front line, but new "powerful offensives" are unlikely, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov reported on July 19 during a national television broadcast.
According to Yusov, Ukrainian forces repelled the attacks during Russia's short-lived offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, which began on May 10 and also impacted the situation in Sumy Oblast in the northeast.
"The key target is the Ukrainian Donbas," Yusov said, adding that "the most heroic and dramatic events continue to occur there."
He noted that while Russian forces remain numerous, there have not been significant changes indicating new powerful offensives in new directions.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said earlier in an interview with NV news outlet that "there are problems, and they tend to get worse," answering the question about a potential Russian offensive in the northern direction of the front line.
However, Budanov declined to specify whether he was referring to Sumy or Chernihiv oblasts or when such an offensive might occur.
"If I start answering that question, we'll provoke panic," he said. "Let's just say that there are problems, and they tend to get worse."
"There is no catastrophe, but it's impossible not to see the problems. I've already told someone from the Western press: I won't have much good news this year, unfortunately," Budanov said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky later said that Budanov's statement was a "little misunderstood."
"He said that he was a little misunderstood," Zelensky said in comments reported by Ukrinform, adding: "That is, we understand that offensives can occur. We are at war with the Russians, and an offensive can occur."
After Russia opened a new front in Kharkiv Oblast, its offensive was effectively bogged down in just about two weeks, with Ukrainian forces counterattacking near the border town of Vovchansk.
Zelensky said in an interview published on May 25 that Russia's losses during the offensive were eight times higher than those suffered by Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Asami Terajima
