"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
"We have a plan B and a plan C. But our focus is plan A, the essence of which is to get everyone's support" for Ukraine's accession, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"(T)he presence at the Victory Parade of a country that bombs cities, hospitals, and daycares, and which has caused the deaths and injuries of over a million people over three years, is a shame," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
"According to the participants of the performances, their goal is to remind the civilized world of the barbaric actions of Moscow, which for many years and decades has systematically violated international law," a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets gives an interview on March 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Around 1.5 million Ukrainian children who remain in occupied areas of Ukraine are at high risk of being deported to Russia, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Oct. 2.
Russia has already abducted more than 20,000 children since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lubinets said. Less than 400 of them have been returned home, according to the Children of War database.
Deported children have their personal data changed so that their relatives cannot find and bring them back home, the ombudsman added.
"Our children are even sent to so-called 're-education camps' where they are zombified with Russian propaganda. Just imagine: our children are forced to deny their Ukrainian origin," Lubinets said.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, those from children's homes in Kherson Oblast were first moved to the occupied territories and then deported to Russia. Kyiv also recorded cases of children being illegally adopted by Russian families.
"Russia deliberately slows down the process of returning our children," Lubinets said.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their roles in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The unlawful transfer or deportation of civilians to Russia violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime under international law.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
