"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.
The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
A view of the destroyed top floor of a residential high-rise building after a Russian drone attack on May 7, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
At least 14 people were killed and 54 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, regional officials reported on May 7.
Russia launched 187 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones and five Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 81 drones and two ballistic missiles. Another 70 drones vanished from radars, likely used as decoys to overwhelm defenses.
The assault was reportedly countered with electronic warfare units, aviation, anti-aircraft missile systems, and mobile fire groups.
In the city of Kyiv, a woman and her son were killed, and eight people were wounded, including four children, the State Emergency Service said.
Russian strikes in Sumy Oblast killed four people, including one child, and wounded 14 civilians, five of them children, the local military administration reported.
Four people were killed and 10 injured in Donetsk Oblast over the past day, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast killed two people and wounded six, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Strikes hit residential areas, damaging a high-rise building and nine houses.
Two people were killed and at least four injured, including a 16-year-old child, in Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Russian forces targeted civilian and social infrastructure in the region.
Eight people were injured in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two of whom are in serious condition, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, four people were injured during at least 13 attacks, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
The escalation comes as Moscow continues to reject a complete ceasefire and intensifies strikes on civilian areas.
"Only significantly intensified pressure on Russia and stronger sanctions can pave the way to diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attacks.
"Any measures depriving the aggressor of resources to wage war must be implemented to bring lasting peace. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine with air defense. Russia must be held accountable for its actions."
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
