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.
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.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the press after meeting with former U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, DC on Feb. 27, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
There is no appetite for another assistance bill for Ukraine, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with Newsmax on Feb. 20 amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed to mediate a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia while using increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Kyiv. After accusing Ukraine of starting the war, Trump dubbed President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator without elections."
"We have to bring (the war) to an end. And I can tell you that our European allies understand the necessity as well. It's (dragged) on too long," Johnson said.
Johnson, a Republican and staunch Trump supporter, has served as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since October 2023. He delayed aid to Kyiv for six months by refusing to hold a vote on various iterations of a $61 billion foreign assistance bill but eventually reached a deal to pass the legislation in April 2024.
The speaker voiced support for the U.S. president, saying he is "the brute force" that can end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Trump's plan to end the war remains unclear. His special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said the war could end this year, pledging to "engage all parties" within 180 days to achieve this.
American and Russian delegations met in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18. No concrete decisions were announced following the talks, but Ukraine's exclusion from the meeting sparked alarm in Kyiv and Europe.
Unofficial U.S. and Russian representatives have also reportedly been quietly meeting in Switzerland in recent months for informal discussions regarding Ukraine.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Chris York
