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.
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.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili speaks to the press after voting at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia on Oct. 26, 2024. (Mirian Meladze/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said on Oct. 27 that she will not recognize the results of the country's recent parliamentary elections and called for citizens to join her in mass demonstrations.
The ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream party won a majority in the Oct. 26 vote, according to Georgia's electoral commission. Pro-EU parties have disputed the result, and European monitors also said the elections were characterized by intimidation and irregularities.
"I do not recognize these elections," President Zourabichvili said in a press conference on Oct. 27, as reported by the Echo of the Caucasus.
"These elections cannot be recognized. This is the same as recognizing Georgia's subordination to Russia. ... No one can take away Georgia's European future."
Zourabichvili called the result a "total falsification" and described the election as a "Russian special operation." She urged citizens to join her at Tbilisi's Freedom Square on Rustaveli Avenue to protest the falsified election.
"We must stand together and declare that we do not recognize these elections, we do not tolerate Russia and its invasion of Georgia in this form," she said.
"We will stand together. ... I would like to invite you all to Rustaveli tomorrow, at 7 p.m., so that we can say together, declare to the whole world that we do not recognize these elections, we are defending constitutional rights."
The president's words echo those of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, an opposition leader, who said that the results "do not reflect the will of the Georgian people" and called for "reasonable forms of protest" to "defend the European future" of the country.
The Georgian Dream party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has led the country closer to Moscow and hampering its EU aspirations. Tbilisi's adoption of the controversial foreign agents law earlier this year led to the EU effectively freezing Georgia's accession process, even though it was awarded candidate status last December.
The passing of the foreign agents bill sparked widespread protests across the country.
The party also said it would seek a constitutional ban on UNM, one of the country's leading opposition parties founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and other opposition groups.
After the results of the Oct. 26 vote were announced, Georgian opposition groups refused to recognize the result and said the election was stolen, pointing to election monitors reporting various violations across the country, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation.
European election observers also noted concerns with Georgia's electoral process.
"During our observation, we noted the cases of vote buying and double voting before and during elections, especially in rural areas," said Ioan Bulai, the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
"The presence of cameras of the ruling party in the polling stations, and people in front of polling stations tracking and possibly controlling voters, led to the atmosphere of pressure and party-organized intimidation."
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Oct. 27 that the Georgian parliament will approve the government despite protests by the opposition.
