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.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, speaks at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 12, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky's trust rating increased from 69% in March to 74% in the first half of May, while 22% of respondents said they do not trust the Ukrainian leader, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 14.
This marks Zelensky's highest trust rating recorded by KIIS since December 2023, when he enjoyed the confidence of 77% of respondents.
The institute carried out the survey as the Ukrainian leader is preparing for a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 in Turkey for peace talks.
Compared to the March poll, the level of trust in the president has increased by 5%, while the level of distrust has decreased from 28% to 22%. A trust-distrust balance is +52%. Researchers also noted that Zelensky enjoyed confidence in all regions across Ukraine.
The poll was conducted from May 2 to May 12 among 1,010 citizens over 18 years of age living in the territories controlled by Ukraine.
Russia invited Ukraine to direct talks in Istanbul after rejecting calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire backed by Europe, Ukraine, and the United States. Zelensky accepted the invitation and said he was ready to personally meet Putin in Turkey on May 15.
The Kremlin has not confirmed Putin's participation but said Russia would dispatch a delegation.
The meeting between Zelensky and Putin, if it occurs, could signal a breakthrough in stalled diplomatic efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion.
The last and only face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin occurred in December 2019 in Paris under the Normandy Format. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, there have been no direct meetings between the two.
Chris York
