"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.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 02: Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Russia suspended its participation in the U.N backed Black Sea Grain Initiative last week stating "it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships" after an attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Negotiations on Black Sea security are underway in Ankara and could shape the region’s post-war stability, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an April 15 press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa.
The talks involve Ukraine, the UK, France, and Turkey, and include discussions about deploying foreign military personnel to safeguard Black Sea waters.
"This is not about ending the war, this is about what will happen after the cease-fire - security guarantees," Zelensky said.
He noted that Turkey could play a key role in future regional security guarantees and stressed the importance of a military presence to protect coastal cities like Odesa and Mykolaiv.
"We are talking about the presence of a contingent at sea, and we believe that Turkey can have a serious place in future security guarantees for the sea," Zelensky added.
Turkey has positioned itself as a potential mediator in Russia's all-out war against Ukraine by maintaining diplomatic and economic ties with both nations. Leveraging its strategic position and influence in the Black Sea region, Turkey has facilitated negotiations and grain exports, while expressing willingness to participate in ceasefire monitoring.
While Kyiv on March 11 immediately agreed to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire without conditions, Russia refused the terms. Following additional talks with the U.S., Russia nominally agreed to a partial truce on the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure attacks.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
