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.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a meeting with Gulf leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh on May 14, 2025 (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
NATO allies have begun working on a plan to increase defense spending, aiming to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's call for each country to allocate 5% of GDP to their militaries, Bloomberg reported on May 14.
Citing diplomats familiar with the issue, Bloomberg said progress is being made toward reaching the goal by 2032. The development of the plan comes ahead of a NATO summit set to take place in The Hague in June.
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.
Defense spending at the level Trump is calling for would be the largest increase in military expenditures by Western allies since the Cold War, as NATO members bolster their defenses in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As of 2024, 24 of NATO's 32 members meet the current 2% target, with Poland (4.12%), Estonia (3.43%), and the U.S. (3.38%) leading the way. Several nations, including Italy, Canada, and Spain, still fall short.
Trump's remarks follow his declaration from last year that he would allow Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO countries failing to meet defense criteria, a statement widely seen as undermining NATO's collective-defense principle.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte quipped on Jan. 13 that allies should increase spending or prepare to "take Russian language courses or move to New Zealand."
Rutte is now pushing allies to commit to 3.5% of GDP for defense over the next seven years, plus an additional 1.5% for broader defense-related areas, Bloomberg reports.
NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs will discuss the defence spending during an informal meeting in Antalya, Turkey, on May 14–15.
Ministers will discuss what qualifies under the 1.5% for broader defense-related areas, and it’s still unclear if this would involve new or existing spending.
The meeting takes place at the same time as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on May 15, though the Kremlin has not confirmed Putin’s presence.
Alex Cadier
