"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.
The symbol of the Azov Brigade on the uniform of a serviceman (Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russia's proxies in Donetsk sentenced three Prisoners of War (POWs) who served with Azov to up to 24 years in prison on April 16.
Previously, a Russian military court sentenced 23 Ukrainians who served with Azov to prison on the charges of "seizure of power" and participating in a "terrorist organization." Ukraine has denounced such trials, saying that international law prohibits trials with war captives.
Vladislav Ruchka, Andriy Yaroshinsky, and Dmytro Ihnatenko have been sentenced to up to 24 years in prison. They have been imprisoned in sentences ranging from 23 years and nine months to 24 years in prison.
The three POWs were convicted of "cruel treatment of the civilian population and murder motivated by political and ideological hatred" as outlined by the Russian criminal code, the court claims.
Ruchka, Yaroshinsky, and Ihnatenko have been accused of firing a mortar at a grain silo in Mariupol in March 2022 in the early days of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
One person was killed in the silo, the Investigative Committee of Russia claims, an agency head by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Following illegal invasions in 2014 and 2022, the Russian Federation claims to have annexed these regions and subjects them to its repressive legislation, in contravention of international law," Freedom House says.
Russian propaganda regularly targets Azov fighters and POWs.
Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine's occupied territories, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on March 21.
"We emphasize that these systematic deportations and persecutions are part of Russia's genocide policy against the Ukrainian people," Tykhyi said.
According to a Russian decree, Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories must leave by Sept. 10 or "regulate their legal status."
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn is a news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology and human geography. Volodymyr holds a Certificate in Business Fundamentals from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. He previously completed an internship with The Kyiv Independent.
Daria Shulzhenko
