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.
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."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv, on Sept. 11, 2024. (Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine is set to receive $50 billion in frozen Russian assets held by the United States and the European Union, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Dec. 4.
Blinken confirmed during a briefing that the transfer is part of a coordinated effort between the U.S. and EU to support Ukraine.
"...Making sure that (Ukraine) has the money, the resources it needs to sustain its economy and to sustain its defense – we’ve now managed on the basis of the frozen sovereign assets, the Russian assets that are frozen, to get $50 billion to Ukraine that will be going out the door in the next – in the coming weeks, both from the United States and Europe," Blinken said.
The funds, frozen in response to Russia's invasion, will provide crucial economic and defense assistance to Ukraine in the coming months. Blinken noted that the U.S. has provided $102 billion in assistance to Ukraine since 2022, while the allies and partners contributed $158 billion.
On Dec. 2, Blinken announced that the U.S. will deliver a $725 million weapons package to Ukraine. The move comes as President Joe Biden's administration, nearing the end of its term, works to strengthen Kyiv's defenses against Russian forces before the January transition of power.
The package will include Stinger missiles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, drones, and landmines, among other equipment.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Martin Fornusek
