"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.
Photo for illustartive purposes. An F-16 jet performs during the Air Show in Radom, Poland on Aug. 26, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The crash of the F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine has raised the question of the pace of training of Ukrainian pilots to use the aircraft on the battlefield, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sept. 6, citing unnamed U.S. and Western officials.
Ukraine's General Staff confirmed on Aug. 29 that the F-16, which had been recently delivered to the country and was being operated by Ukraine's top pilot Oleksii Mes, call sign "Moonfish," had crashed while defending against a mass Russian drone and missile attack on Aug. 26. Mes was killed in the crash.
Ukraine's Air Force has not yet announced the cause of the crash. An investigation, with the U.S. involvement, is underway.
Kyiv is yet to establish whether the plane was shot down by Russia or "friendly fire," or whether a mechanical malfunction caused the crash, U.S. officials told the WSJ.
One of the American officials claimed that a Russian missile exploded near the F-16 shortly before it disappeared from radar, which could have either damaged the jet or forced the pilot to maneuver too low over the ground, leading to the crash.
The training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s has been happening at an accelerated pace. Ukraine's pilot training program is ongoing, but "the crash shows what happens when you try to rush things," an unnamed senior defense official told the WSJ.
Western officials are now discussing Ukraine's decision to use the jets on the battlefield weeks after the arrival of the first batch, sending pilots who have had limited flying hours in the U.S. aircraft on combat missions, the WSJ reported.
Ukraine received its first F-16s at the beginning of August, a year after its allies formed the fighter jet coalition at the NATO summit in Vilnius to support Kyiv with training and aircraft.
Kateryna Hodunova
