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.
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)
China may have talked Russian President Vladimir Putin out of deploying nuclear weapons amid Russia's war against Ukraine, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on Jan. 3.
Beijing has emerged as Moscow's leading ally and financial backer since the full-scale invasion of February 2022, though China has denied accusations of supporting Russia's military efforts.
China may have exerted its influence over Russia to intervene when Putin was considering nuclear escalation, Blinken told the FT.
"We have reason to believe that China engaged Russia and said: 'Don't go there,'" he said.
Blinken said the U.S. had been "very concerned" because Putin appeared to be considering nuclear weapons.
"Even if the probability went from 5 to 15%, when it comes to nuclear weapons, nothing is more serious," he said.
Blinken also claimed that China may have intervened in a similar manner after the U.S. warned Beijing that Putin was planning to launch a nuclear weapon into space.
Fear of escalating hostilities with nuclear-armed Russia has been a driving factor behind the current U.S. administration's policy toward Ukraine. Under President Joe Biden, the White House delayed deliveries of certain weapons and withheld permission for Kyiv to launch deep strikes within Russian territory, citing Putin's "red lines."
Putin began a new round of nuclear saber-rattling in late November after Biden allowed Ukraine to attack some Russian targets with U.S.-made long-range weapons. Putin revised Russia's nuclear doctrine, expanding the criteria under which the country can launch a nuclear strike.
Despite these steps, U.S. intelligence sources have said that the risk of a Russian nuclear strike has not increased and remains unlikely.
Blinken defended Biden's record on Russia and Ukraine, saying that Putin suffered a "strategic defeat" and that NATO has grown stronger.
Biden's term ends later this month when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Republican Senator Marco Rubio will replace Blinken as secretary of state.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
