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."
The building in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is seen shelled by Russian armed forces on March 12, 2022. (Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainian marines defending Mariupol came out with a public statement criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky and the army command.
The 36th Marine Brigade accused the country’s leadership of abandoning them in the besieged port city with no ammunition left, saying that it might be their last day of fighting.
“For over a month, the marines fought without replenishment of ammunition, without food, without water, drinking from a puddle and dying in batches,” reads the plea published on the brigade’s Facebook page on April 11.
“The infantry was all killed, and now artillerymen, anti-aircraft gunners, drivers, cooks, and even the orchestra are fighting,” the message reads. “No one wants to talk to us anymore, we are forgotten.”
The message says that the marines are trapped at the Azovmash, a heavy industry plant in Mariupol. The author has likely confused it with Azovstal, another plant, serving as a stronghold for the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.
According to the marines, injured soldiers account for nearly half of the brigade.
The Kyiv Independent could not contact the brigade directly to confirm the message posted on their official Facebook page.
The marines’ plea followed another disgruntled address from Mariupol. The day before, on April 10, Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Svyatoslav Palamar published a video update effectively saying that the country’s leadership doesn’t speak to them.
“Politicians say they are in touch with us, but in reality no one is picking up the phone for two weeks,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he has been in touch with the defenders of Mariupol.
Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi was forced to respond with a short statement on April 11.
“We are doing everything possible and impossible to win and to save the lives of soldiers and civilians (in Mariupol),” wrote Zaluzhnyi. “Military operations shouldn’t be a topic for a public discussion.”
Ukraine’s leadership has repeatedly said that breaking the Russian siege of Mariupol is very hard, and that the focus is on establishing a humanitarian corridor out of the city. On April 10, Zelensky said that tens of thousands of people have been killed in Mariupol. Before the war, the city boasted a population of 450,000 people. Now, according to various estimations, from 120,000 to 160,000 people remain in Mariupol.
Apart from the Russian shelling and bombardment, the city is suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe, having been cut from running water, heating, electricity, and food supply.
Those who have been able to escape say that the city’s parks turned into cemeteries, and people are buried everywhere. Those who are alive don’t dare to leave bomb shelters as Mariupol is being constantly shelled by Russia.
Despite the dire situation, the marines’ criticism of the country’s leadership came as a surprise.
Some commentators suggested that the message was from a rogue soldier, and it shouldn’t be treated as an official statement of the entire brigade.
Later on April 11, the Azov regiment came out with a contrasting statement calling for unity.
“We believe in the military and political leadership of Ukraine! We continue to fight for the Ukrainian Mariupol,” Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Palamar said in the new video on April 11 — the same officer who had said the country’s leadership was ignoring Azov.
Meanwhile, the situation in Mariupol can take a turn to the worse.
On the night of April 11, Azov reported a chemical attack conducted by Russia in Azov.
The regiment said that an unknown substance was distributed by a drone, and that three people who came in contact with it were having trouble breathing.
If a chemical attack is confirmed, it will be the first known instance of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Just hours earlier, Russian proxies in Donetsk called for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces defending the city.
Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for Russian-controlled Donetsk proxies, said that it made no sense to storm the well-fortified Ukrainian-controlled Azovstal plant in Mariupol because Russian troops would suffer heavy casualties, and instead Russian “chemical forces” should “smoke them out.”
Anna Myroniuk is the head of investigations at the Kyiv Independent. Anna has run investigative projects on human rights, healthcare and illicit trade. She also investigated political and corporate misconduct and alleged wrongdoings in the Ukraine army's leadership. Anna holds a Masters in Investigative Journalism from the City University of London. She is a Chevening Scholar, the European Press Prize 2023 winner, the winner of the #AllForJan Award 2023, an honoree of the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Media & Marketing list, the runner-up in the investigative reporting category of the 2022 European Press Prize, and a finalist of the 2022 Ukraine's National Investigative Journalism Award and the 2020 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award.
