"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.
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.
French Rafale fighter jets sit on the main deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, during its anchor at the Mormugao Port, in Goa on January 4, 2025 (Punit Paranjpe / AFP)
France could deploy jet fighters equipped with nuclear weapons to Germany to send a "strong message" to Russia, the Telegraph reported on Feb. 24.
A French official speaking to the Telegraph said deploying fighter jets to Germany "should not be difficult and would send a strong message," and would also pressure U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to make a similar move.
France is thought to have 300 nuclear weapons in its' 'force de dissuasion' program, with both sea and air-based launch systems.
Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Trident nuclear deterrent comprises four Vanguard-class submarines, each capable of carrying up to 16 warheads.
The Telegraph report came on the same day that French President Emmanuel Macron met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House where they discussed the future of support for Ukraine and possible peace negotiations.
At a press conference after the pair met, Macron said that Europe needs U.S. support in any peace agreement "because this is part of the credibility of security guarantees," but he also urged Europeans to take greater responsibility for safeguarding the continent.
Before he met Trump, Macron talked to Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany's next chancellor. Merz has also called on Britain and France to extend their nuclear protection as he seeks "independence" for Europe from the U.S.
"If those who really do not just make 'America first,' but almost 'America alone' their motto prevail, then it will be difficult," he said on Feb. 24.
"But I remain hopeful that we will succeed in maintaining the transatlantic relationship," he added.
Andrea Januta
