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.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Alexander Stubb, Finland's president, during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. Europe's leaders and military officials are convening at conference as the continent wakes up to the idea that it needs to defend itself. (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested that April 20 is a “good time for a complete ceasefire without any conditions” in Ukraine, Yle reported on March 30.
"Finland's proposal is April 20. That would be a good time for a complete ceasefire without any conditions. Why April 20? Because we need a deadline. Because it's Easter. And because (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump will have been in office for three months," Stubb said.
According to Yle, Stubb also pushed for a strong sanctions mechanism to pressure Russia into compliance, revealing that U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is preparing a sanctions package supported by 50 senators.
The Finnish president also noted that Trump’s frustration with Russia’s delays in ceasefire implementations are growing.
"He (Trump) is very impatient with Russia's actions, with this collusion and delay in the ceasefire,” Stubb said. “I have the impression that patience is running out on the part of the United States as well — and that, in my opinion, is a good thing.”
These comments come after Stubb spoke with Trump about the war in Ukraine and other policy matters during a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on March 29.
Stubb's visit was "unofficial," according to a press release from the Finnish government. It involved breakfast, lunch, and a round of golf.
"During the visit, the Presidents discussed among other things the relations between Finland and the United States, and current foreign and security policy issues, including Ukraine," the press release said.
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
