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."
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.
The Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant is situated in Netishyn, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine, on Aug. 31, 2023. (Volodymyr Tarasov / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Bulgaria is backing off from a deal to sell two of its Russian-made nuclear reactors that Ukraine sought for the expansion of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, Forbes Bulgaria reported on April 16.
The move comes as a turnaround in a deal that has been debated since 2023 and was approved by Ukraine's legislature earlier this year.
Bulgaria's deputy prime minister and chairman of the co-ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Atanas Zafirov, announced the news, arguing that Sofia needs to develop its nuclear energy capacities, especially amid rising electricity prices.
Boyko Borisov's GERB party, which originally backed the sale in 2023, also supported canceling the deal.
The Ukrainian parliament approved in February the purchase of Bulgaria's older VVER-1000 reactors and other equipment for Units 3 and 4 of the western Ukrainian nuclear power plant, despite heavy criticism.
While Ukraine needs to expand its nuclear energy production capacity amid Russian attacks on the power grid, some lawmakers criticized the deal, claiming that the reactors are obsolete and expensive. The parliament has long struggled to pass the law, prompting Bulgaria to extend the deadline for concluding the deal until March.
Nuclear power is key in sustaining Ukraine's energy grid, covering more than half of the country's electricity consumption. Russian missile and drone attacks have dealt devastating damage to Ukraine's thermal and hydroelectric generating capacity, necessitating periods of emergency shutdowns.
The Khmelnytskyi plant, one of the three remaining operational nuclear stations in Ukraine-held territories, is being expanded to offset the loss of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, currently under Russian occupation.
The decision to abort the deal was reportedly preceded by disagreements on price. While Ukraine planned to allocate $600 million for the reactors, Bulgaria requested an additional $100 million, Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Zhupanyn said.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Daria Shulzhenko
