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.
"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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 1, 2024. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 15 that Ukraine's military now comprises 880,000 soldiers, tasked with defending the entire country against 600,000 Russian troops concentrated in specific areas.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, Zelensky said that Russia's localized troop concentration creates a numerical advantage.
"Russian troops are concentrated in several areas, so in some areas, they have a quantitative advantage," he said.
Ukraine has been struggling with a manpower shortage, especially in the infantry, while Russia has intensified its offensive in Donetsk Oblast since the summer of 2024.
Earlier on Jan. 14, a scandal erupted in Ukraine as Air Force members claimed they were being transferred to bolster the infantry.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi issued an order on Jan. 11 to transfer over 5,000 Air Force personnel to Ground Forces units. A senior Air Force officer, speaking anonymously, said transfers began in spring 2024 and have now reached a "critical level," with unit staffing dropping to 50%.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces denied claims of transferring technical and aviation personnel, saying that these resources are being increased.
Critics have called for deeper mobilization reforms, as Ukraine’s army faces challenges related to demographics and an uneven mobilization process.
In 2024, Ukraine lowered its minimum mobilization age from 27 to 25 but resisted calls from international partners to reduce it further to 18.
Zelensky also reported progress in arms production, saying that Ukraine now covers 33-34% of its annual weapons needs — up from less than 10% before the full-scale invasion. Europe and the U.S. supply more than 60% of Ukraine’s weaponry, with each accounting for about 30%.
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Francis Farrell
