Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"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.
Photo for illustrative purposes. The detained Eagle S tanker, which damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea last month, off the coast of Porvoo, Finland, on Jan. 7, 2025. Finnish authorities deemed the tanker that's part of the fleet carrying Russian oil as not seaworthy after inspections onboard. (Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An explosion occurred on an oil tanker at the Ust-Luga port in northwest Russia in the morning of Feb. 9, prompting an evacuation of the crew, according to the country's Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport (Rosmorrechflot). Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Rosmorrechflot reported on Telegram that the blast took place in the engine room of the Koala, a vessel docked at the port west of St. Petersburg. While the explosion forced crew members to leave the ship, officials said that no oil spill or cargo leak had occurred. The ship was not at risk of sinking, they added.
The incident follows a series of tanker-related accidents in recent months. In December, two oil tankers were wrecked in the Black Sea, causing a large fuel spill that continues to wash up along the shoreline.
The tanker, built in 2023 and sailing under the Antigua and Barbuda flag, had arrived at Ust-Luga on Feb. 6, according to ship-tracking data from Vesselfinder. Russia’s Baza Telegram channel reported that the vessel was carrying 130,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the explosion, and the ship's condition is set to be inspected.
The U.S. government in January designated over 180 Russian vessels as part of a "shadow fleet" used to export crude oil despite Western sanctions. However, the Koala is not included in this list.
Last month, Ukraine's security services claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a fuel terminal at Ust-Luga, describing the port as a hub for Russia’s sanctioned oil and gas exports.
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.
Olena Goncharova
