Wagner case
President adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak has offered a follow-up commentary after Volodymyr Zelenskyy told One Plus One TV that he had personally warned Belarus's Alyaksandr Lukashenka about the arrival of members of the Wagner private military company in July 2020. Podolyak said that the phone conversation between the two presidents took place on 5 August 2020, that is after the presumably foiled operation by the Ukrainian special services to lure the Wagnerites into Belarus in order to arrest them for their participation in the Donbas war. According to Podolyak, Zelenskyy insisted on the Wagnerites' extradition to Ukraine by Belarus. "We would like to better understand the intentions of these countries and how it tallies with the sanctions policy against Russia," he said.
In a TV interview, Zelensky said that his predecessor Petro Poroshenko was not interested in ending the war and was making money on it, the allegations which the latter flatly dismissed.
Russia
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has summoned the German and French ambassadors after Berlis and Paris had suggested the EU should resume summits with Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
Russia sanctions
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has welcomed the European Council's decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar has said.
Crime
The counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has tracked down a Rivne resident who attempted to smuggle abroad military-grade electronic devices at the request of the Russian special services. He was reportedly recruited during his stay in Russia.
Economy
Unemployment among the able-bodied population reached 10.5% in the first quarter of 2021, the highest figure since early 2017.
Appointment
President Zelensky has appointed Dmytro Zhyvytskyy head of the Sumy state regional administration.
USA
American University Kyiv will open in the Ukrainian capital next school year, UDAR councilor Dmytro Bilotserkovets has said on Facebook. Kurt Volker, who also attended the presentation, represented American investors.
Israel
Israeli ambassador Joel Lion has said in an interview with the Kyiv not Kiev project that the Holodomor in Ukraine rather fits the definition of sociocide than genocide because it was directed not against Ukrainians as a people, but against a part of society.
Economy
The Ukrainian government and the IBRD (part of the World Bank group) have signed a 350m-dollar loan deal, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. The money will be channeled towards the development of the economy during the pandemic, social support for vulnerable population groups and strengthening of social institutions.