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.
Ukrainian and European flags are seen in front of Ukrainian lawmakers voting during a session of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on Sept. 4, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on Sept. 18 in support of increasing the state budget by Hr 500 billion ($12 billion) to spend on defense and military needs.
In total, 298 lawmakers voted in support of the budget increase, and no lawmakers voted against.
"This year's expenditures amount to a record Hr 3.73 trillion ($89.8 billion)," MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Telegram.
The Verkhovna Rada's Budget Committee had recommended the draft law on increasing defense spending earlier in September.
According to Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the Budget Committee, the additional $12 billion will mostly be financed through the issuing of domestic government bonds and reducing expenses relating to repaying the state debt.
Another Hr 30 billion ($722 million) will come from revenues from tax increases, and Hr 12.7 billion ($305.8 million) will come from an increase in the excise duty on tobacco and fuel.
Andrea Januta
