"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.
Russian and Chechen politician, Akhmad battalion's commader Apti Alaudinov seen during the 21th Congress of the United Russia Party in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 17, 2023. (Getty Images)
Editor's note: The latest articles on Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast can be found here.
Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat unit fighting for Russia, said in a video on Aug. 8 that Ukrainian forces had advanced around 10 kilometers into Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 7 in a rare admission.
"The situation is not irreversible, nothing supernatural happened... Yes, our people died, that's a fact. The enemy has entered several settlements," said Alaudinov, a close ally of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and an official at the Russian Defense Ministry, in a video published by the Russian independent outlet Agentstvo.
Alaudinov became the first Russian commander to acknowledge losses since Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6. Despite Moscow claiming repeatedly that the Ukrainian advance has been halted, the fighting continues.
The commander did not elaborate on the number of the supposed losses.
A shorter version of the video was shared on Alaudinov's personal Telegram channel, where the comment about losses was cut.
The Chechen commander said that Ukrainian forces "advanced well into our territory, about 10 kilometers." The U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) gave a similar estimate on Aug. 7 based on geolocated footage.
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into the Kursk region.
Kursk Oblast lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
The appearance of Chechen special forces in Kursk Oblast was reported as early as April, and their presence was later confirmed by Kadyrov himself, Agentstvo wrote.
Alaudinov claimed that his forces were unable to stop the Ukrainian advance because Kyiv's troops bypassed key strongholds. In turn, Russian "milblogger" Yuri Kotenok claimed that Chechen forces were deployed in the area of hostilities but fled soon after the Ukrainian attack.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Russia said that as of Aug. 8, battles are ongoing in the Sudzhansky (Sudzha) and Korenevsky (Korenevo) border districts of Kursk Oblast. Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while the city of Kursk lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the northeast of Sudzha.
Kateryna Hodunova
