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.
"Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv. "And we should do our part. Sensibly approach this issue, to show that it’s not us that is slowing down the process."
Illustrative picture of Kyiv. (Artem Hvozdkov/Getty Images)
The Ukrainian parliament voted on July 16 to cancel daylight saving time as part of a draft law on time calculation and calendar.
This means that Ukrainians will set their clocks back one hour for the last time on Oct. 27, 2024, and will not revert back to summer time next spring.
Many countries in Europe, North America, and elsewhere have adopted daylight saving time to make better use of longer daylight in summer. The clock is set forward by one hour in the spring and then reverted back in autumn.
The continued use of the practice has been hotly debated in the EU, and 84% of respondents polled in 2018 spoke in favor of its abolishment. While the European Parliament voted in 2021 to cancel the system, no final decision has been taken and the practice remains in use in much of Europe.
In spite of this, Ukrainian lawmakers presented the change as a step toward EU integration. The bill was backed by 261 votes but it still needs a presidential signature to become law.
The recently passed legislation was also meant to unify standards across Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and occupation.
While Ukraine belongs to the Eastern European time zone (UTC+2:00, or UTC+3:00 during summer time), Russia began to enforce the de facto use of Moscow Standard Time (UTC+3:00 without using daylight saving time) in the occupied territories.
After October this year, Ukraine will fix its time zone at UTC+2:00.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Olena Makarenko
