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."
Employees work in the control room of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pivdennoukrainsk in Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine on Aug. 7, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)
Preparations for the construction of two power units based on U.S. company Westinghouse's AR1000 technology are underway at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, according to the plant's Nov. 13 statement.
The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, the second largest of the country's five nuclear power stations, is located near the city of Pivdennoukrainsk in Mykolaiv Oblast.
The nuclear power plant currently has three operating power units with a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW).
Geological studies were conducted to construct the new power units, and a construction site was selected, the statement read.
Ukraine is also preparing to resume the construction of the previously abandoned Chyhyryn plant in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine's state nuclear energy operator said on Aug. 27. According to Energoatom, the plant will also be equipped with AP1000 reactors built by the U.S. company Westinghouse.
The members of the Chyhyryn City Council voted to permit Energoatom to resume the plant's construction. "The first steps have been taken," said Energoatom.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Its position near the front line has led to heightened nuclear safety risks throughout Russia's full-scale war.
Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 15 that Russian forces continued to use the territory of the occupied power plant to deploy military personnel and store ammunition and explosives.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Dominic Culverwell
