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.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu in Kyiv on Sept. 28, 2023. (Sergei Shuzavkov / AFP via Getty Images)
France and Ukraine have been discussing the use of Ukrainian minerals for the purposes of the French defense industry since October 2024, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, as France Info reported on Feb. 27.
The comments come as the U.S. and Kyiv reached an initial agreement on a deal on the use of Ukraine's natural resources, including rare earth minerals, oil, and gas. President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Washington on Feb. 28 to discuss the deal and a possible inclusion of security guarantees.
Speaking on the 8h30 franceinfo program, Lecornu said that the French leadership has been considering the issue since last fall when Zelensky presented international partnerships on Ukrainian natural resources in his victory plan.
"Volodymyr Zelensky and his team saw that this issue of raw materials could be one of the transactional elements with us, to create endurance," Lecornu said.
"So, President Trump did not invent it because it was the Ukrainians themselves who did."
French President Emmanuel Macron instructed Lecornu to enter into bilateral talks with Ukraine on the issue last October to diversify the supply of rare earth minerals for the French defense industry, the minister said.
"Our defense industry will need a certain number of key raw materials in our own weapons systems, not for next year, but for the next 30 or 40 years," Lecornu added.
The U.S.-Ukraine deal, finalized on Feb. 25, follows weeks of negotiations that strained relations between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington initially proposed three versions, with Kyiv rejecting the first two over the absence of security guarantees.
The latest version of the agreement, which the Kyiv Independent obtained, aims to create a fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of proceeds from the "future monetization" of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.
While it does not contain concrete security guarantees, the agreement states that the U.S. government "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."
The AFP news agency reported earlier this week that the EU had proposed its own version of a deal on minerals that is "mutually beneficial." Soon after, the European Commission denied any such proposal.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
