"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.
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.
At the time Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich looks on from the stands during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on April 16, 2016 in London, England. (Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
Russian-Israeli oligarch Roman Abramovich evaded millions in taxes in EU countries through a fake yacht-for-hire scheme, according to a joint investigation by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism published on Jan. 28.
The businessman acquired five yachts in the 2000s that he then "hired" for himself through controlled companies to claim an exemption from value-added tax (VAT) in Cyprus and elsewhere, the investigation said, citing leaked documents.
Abramovich has a net worth estimated to be around $9 billion and has Russian, Israeli, and Portuguese citizenship. He was formerly the governor of the Chukotka region in Russia's far east and previously owned Chelsea FC, which he was forced to sell after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He and other top Russian oligarchs were sanctioned after the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The oligarch now resides alternatively in Tel Aviv, Istanbul, and Russia's Sochi.
According to the investigation, Abramovich acquired the Eclipse, Ecstasea, Luna, Le Grand Bleu, and Pelorus superyachts shortly after getting rich from selling the Russian oil company Sibneft in 2005.
The vessels, owned by various companies registered in the British Virgin Islands ultimately administered by Abramovich's trust, were registered as cargo, commercial, or passenger yachts and "leased" to the Cyprus-based company Blue Ocean Yacht Management.
Blue Ocean then reportedly rented the yachts to other companies, which were, in fact, also controlled by Abramovich. This scheme helped the businessman generate profit without paying VAT.
The oligarch's companies falsely claimed the right to tax exemption by listing the yachts as central to their business. According to experts consulted by the journalists, this may amount to tax evasion.
Abramovich's lawyers denied any knowledge of a tax evasion scheme.
The article came as part of the joint Cyprus Confidential investigation into files leaked in 2023 and led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Paper Trail Media.
Shortly after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion, Abramovich participated in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Bloomberg reported that he visited Kyiv as part of the talks in April 2022, which his spokesperson denied.
Later in the year, Abramovich met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to help negotiate a prisoner exchange.
Nate Ostiller
